brooklyn locals

gotta love the locals...

Tim Fite :: www.myspace.com/timfite :: Folk hip/hop?
Matt Singer :: www.myspace.com/mattsingermusic :: Folk

mostly just hunkering down, trying to outlast the winter. less listening and more playing/writing...

new and old

february 14th

i suppose it was inevitable. new year's reolutions last one month, then they start to smell funny. once a week turns into twice a month. then monthly. so it goes...

bruce springsteen :: working on a dream
i really like this album. it seems wierd for springsteen to spout his midwest working man blue collar spiel for the last 35 years when he's a millionaire living in NJ. [ aside : i grew up in NJ and my friend's dad used to be his family doctor.] he makes earnest songs that work for me. but the songs i like best on this album are tucked in the back. 'This Life' sails down cheese river to something from Magnetic Fields (also heard in 'Kingdom of Days'), to a David Bowie sound somewhere in the middle. 'Tomorrow Never Knows' is a smart, cute lullaby. 'Last Carnival' is a great sad song about the death of his friend. And the 'Wrestler' tune is great since it reminds me of mickey rourke's beat-to-shit face.

bon iver :: blood bank
i don't love this album for two very very good reasons. one, it's not for emma, and it sounds like sounds b-sides waiting in the wings for the next full album. and two, i'm fucking jealous. before i knew about bon iver, i didn't have to compete with this shit. now, i sound like a hack.

jorge ben :: forca bruta
i think his singing veers between bad and authentic. i don't know portuguese and i didn't listen to this album to know just how much i like it, but i like it. i'll be listening to some more of his stuff before heading down to Brazil in April...lalala.

common :: universal mind control
i put this on, and my wife told me in minutes how much she hated this album. keep in mind Jess is the one who told me that my very favorite lines in hip hop, on my very favorite song, black star's respiration, Common sings my favorite lines. i'm a hip-hop hack (as much as i'd like to do a Joaquin Phoenix and go pro-wierd-rapper) but i didn't hate this album. It's mostly non-smart, childish lyrics, with some bad beats BUT it felt like a throwback to old old hip hop. simpler delivery, minimal beats, etc. i like that about it.

a.c. newman :: get guilty
** This is already one of my top picks for 2009. this guy is a mega melody master. i don't really know what the fuck he's talking about, but whereas that sometimes turns me off with Andrew Bird, i just roll with these pop treasures. i don't really know how the whole album hangs together from one song to the next. for example, he opens up with the most in your face tune 'There are Maybe Ten or Twelve' then chills out with 'Heartbreak Rides' which i fcking love. but man what a good collection of songs!

santogold :: santogold
as of this month, she's now Santigold cause she was getting sued by a jewelry company with the name Santo Gold. i like a bunch of songs, but haven't explored them too much just yet.


this coming week : ???

post birthday

Celebrated my birthday at the Bronx Zoo.

Antony & the Johnsons didn't grab me the way I wanted it to. There were a couple pieces that i liked alright, but nothing like his older stuff...
Animal Collective however grew on me to the point where i'm no longer suspicious of AC projects. Merriweather isn't the greatest album (for spacey pop, i was more into the Flaming Lips albums) but it had me wanting to listen to it again and again.

DJ crush is ridiculously good and boring at the same time. I keep waiting for someone to drop lines all over the place...

Working on this week :
- Bruce Springsteen : Working on a Dream
- Bon Iver : Blood Bank
- Jorge Ben : Forca Bruta (old album, but we're going to Brazil in a few months...)

+ a couple of other albums in the wings...


-

biggie & bird

Listened to mr biggie smalls last week :

Ready to Die


Life after Death 1 & 2



amazing stuff, although i got tired of the guns hos & drugs & posturing after a few days of continous play. when i saw the movie the whole theater sang along.

Then i got Andrew Bird's latest album 'Noble Beast'. I think it ranges between good and great. It's not pretentious but sometimes the lyrics or titles feel deliberately cryptic. 'Oh No' might be my favorite so far.

I'm planning on listening to some old DJ Crush albums, and this week i'm going to loop another couple of new releases :

Antony & the Johnsons : The Crying Light
Animal Collective : Merriweather Post Pavilion


alright.

old songs, new songs

Finally got to listen to the White Album for the first time in a long time. I've had it on my list followed by the Black album, and then the Danger Mouse's remix Grey album. I forgot how great 'Revolution 9' was until i listened to it on the way to the airport this weekend. The Beatles are ridiculous. I used to listen to my parents records and it made me think of old times.

I recorded some backup harmonies/vocals with my friend Dana who was in town a few weeks ago to finish a soundtrack to a movie. She worked like a fucking madwoman until it was done, and it sounds great. Just got a copy of two clips we worked on :

home.mp3
impossible.m4a


Listening to Notorious B.I.G. this week (Life after Death, Ready to Die)...

catching up

catching up on old music and recommendations i've been meaning to sink my teeth into :

The Flaming Lips (At War with the Mystics)
Dr. Dog (never heard of them till recently)
Beck (Modern Guilt)

something newer next week?

Christopher Raiche

My friend Max asks me at the end of every year for my "Best of the Year" lists of bands, music, albums, and songs. I send him my anemic list, sometimes reminding myself what i liked by culling from other people's "Best Of"'s and every year, i feel like a cheat. Worse, I feel like i didn't listen to enough music. I mean really listen, the way i used to listen to old records or beatup cassettes.

So this is my year long attempt to listen again.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

January 3rd 2009

I met Christopher Raiche when he played a Bar 4 open mic last week. It was the quiet quiet loud loud sh*t that i love. I mean LOVE it. The quieter parts of songs remind me of vetiver, the louder parts of something i can't recall.

www.myspace.com/christopherraiche



saw Christopher at a Mercury Lounge show last night, raw but great :