How sweet it is to be loved by...who?
1. I don't have a fear of heights; I just have a fear of splattering.
2. In order to counteract Conlan's idealistic vow to not buy or steal any music until the new year, I have decided to buy more music than I can realistically afford. Today I got the following albums:
Common, Be
James Taylor, Live
Bloodhound Gang, Hefty Fine
Jamie Cullum, Catching Tales
Kanye West, College Dropout
...and a few random b-sides by Coldplay, "Gong" by Sigur Ros, and Queen's "Play the Game" covered by Jon Brion.
But I somehow feel like I must clarify my Bloodhound Gang purchase. I will admit that I own their first two albums, One Fierce Beer Coaster and, yes, the artistically brilliant Hooray For Boobies. Their lyrics are juvenile, petty, crude, insulting and ridiculous. But they are clever. And seriously, how could you not love a band whose song titles include "Lift Your Head Up High and Blow Your Brains Out", "Diahrea Runs in the Family" and "A Lap Dance is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying"? Their musical motives aren't to be taken seriously, as their music is for the most part crap, but they're a niche band, and the niche is clever potty humor. Really, the music sucks. But nobody listens to BHG because of their complicated chord progressions or musical originality. "Farting with a Walkman On" sounds like a Blink-182 fan bought a used drum machine at Salvation Army and had fun on a Saturday afternoon. Is it least common denominator? Yes. But will it make me laugh because I can never pass up a good poop joke? Yes. Yes, it will.
I've really been getting into James Taylor lately. As a guitarist I've always felt I should know some JT, but mostly saw him as the undisputed king of elevator music. Recently, however, through the recommendation of a friend, I picked up James Taylor's Greatest Hits and have been slowly becoming a fan. His guitar playing is clean and his melodies are wonderfully catchy. Plus, he just has that voice. You know, the easily recognizable James Taylor voice that makes your shopping pleasure at Longs and Mervyn's much more enjoyable. Listen to the 7:29 long "How Sweet It Is" and the quasi-country "Something in the Way She Moves"; consider it musical medicine.
Common is along the same lines as The Roots and for some reason I've been getting into an urban hip-hop kick lately, so this CD has quickly made its way on to my "Cool, Jazzy, Soulful Hip-Hop" iTunes playlist. I particularly like it because it has a classic R&B vibe with heavy keys and funky bass lines, kind of like a modern Stevie Wonder or Al Green. He includes subdued but interesting string arrangements much like Jon Brion's on the new Kanye, minus the excessive samples. The whole album has a very relaxed, cohesive feel. Try "Real People" and "They Say" featuring Kanye. It's good "chillout" music, whatever the hell that even means.
Jamie Cullum: get "I Only Have Eyes For You" or try "Get Your Way", which feels like a funky Brazilian jazz standard from the 50s. It's his current single. "I Only Have Eyes For You" is trip-hop jazz at its most interesting. It doesn't touch Ella Fitzgerald's version but it's still a cool cover.
3. I didn't intend to make this a long music review, but if you don't like it, you can cram it.
4. This week I've learned that the little things really do matter.
2. In order to counteract Conlan's idealistic vow to not buy or steal any music until the new year, I have decided to buy more music than I can realistically afford. Today I got the following albums:
Common, Be
James Taylor, Live
Bloodhound Gang, Hefty Fine
Jamie Cullum, Catching Tales
Kanye West, College Dropout
...and a few random b-sides by Coldplay, "Gong" by Sigur Ros, and Queen's "Play the Game" covered by Jon Brion.
But I somehow feel like I must clarify my Bloodhound Gang purchase. I will admit that I own their first two albums, One Fierce Beer Coaster and, yes, the artistically brilliant Hooray For Boobies. Their lyrics are juvenile, petty, crude, insulting and ridiculous. But they are clever. And seriously, how could you not love a band whose song titles include "Lift Your Head Up High and Blow Your Brains Out", "Diahrea Runs in the Family" and "A Lap Dance is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying"? Their musical motives aren't to be taken seriously, as their music is for the most part crap, but they're a niche band, and the niche is clever potty humor. Really, the music sucks. But nobody listens to BHG because of their complicated chord progressions or musical originality. "Farting with a Walkman On" sounds like a Blink-182 fan bought a used drum machine at Salvation Army and had fun on a Saturday afternoon. Is it least common denominator? Yes. But will it make me laugh because I can never pass up a good poop joke? Yes. Yes, it will.
I've really been getting into James Taylor lately. As a guitarist I've always felt I should know some JT, but mostly saw him as the undisputed king of elevator music. Recently, however, through the recommendation of a friend, I picked up James Taylor's Greatest Hits and have been slowly becoming a fan. His guitar playing is clean and his melodies are wonderfully catchy. Plus, he just has that voice. You know, the easily recognizable James Taylor voice that makes your shopping pleasure at Longs and Mervyn's much more enjoyable. Listen to the 7:29 long "How Sweet It Is" and the quasi-country "Something in the Way She Moves"; consider it musical medicine.
Common is along the same lines as The Roots and for some reason I've been getting into an urban hip-hop kick lately, so this CD has quickly made its way on to my "Cool, Jazzy, Soulful Hip-Hop" iTunes playlist. I particularly like it because it has a classic R&B vibe with heavy keys and funky bass lines, kind of like a modern Stevie Wonder or Al Green. He includes subdued but interesting string arrangements much like Jon Brion's on the new Kanye, minus the excessive samples. The whole album has a very relaxed, cohesive feel. Try "Real People" and "They Say" featuring Kanye. It's good "chillout" music, whatever the hell that even means.
Jamie Cullum: get "I Only Have Eyes For You" or try "Get Your Way", which feels like a funky Brazilian jazz standard from the 50s. It's his current single. "I Only Have Eyes For You" is trip-hop jazz at its most interesting. It doesn't touch Ella Fitzgerald's version but it's still a cool cover.
3. I didn't intend to make this a long music review, but if you don't like it, you can cram it.
4. This week I've learned that the little things really do matter.
posted by Ryan at 11:28 PM
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