Recommended Listening (2)

I got a pretty good response from last Sunday's recommended listening (Yael Naim), so I thought I'd throw another one out there.

Check out Ethel. In many ways they are the heir apparent to the Kronos Quartet. Young, vibrant, they are a string quartet out of NYC mixing classical, rock and jazz influences to create their own unique sound. They perform amplified and are everything that you would hope Kronos would still be. Rockers. You can listen here: www.ethelcentral.com/music. I hope you enjoy.

U2

Picked up their new CD, "No Line On The Horizon" this week. Still absorbing it - haven't fallen in love at first sound as was the case with a few of their earlier CDs. I recommend re-listening (or listening to for the first time if for some reason you've never heard this) to "Wide Awake In America". For me it is the definitive U2 recording. It captures the group live - when they are at their best - and in their prime, way back in the 1980s. I've seen them live twice, and I have never, ever seen a single person connect so intimately with a crowd of 60,000 people (no, Barack Obama doesn't even come close to the connection Bono has with his audience). Hope you find it, listen, and enjoy.

The Strangers

It's been a busy, busy week. (A poor attempt to explain the days of silence on this blog.) Here's some fun weekend listening:



I'm a huge St. Vincent fan. Still bummed I missed thier Boston show last year due to a bout with the flu. Singer Annie Clark is amazing. The track above is the first from their upcoming CD "Actor" scheduled to be released in May. You can find more about them and more music here. Hope you enjoy.

Snow Day Shuffle

iPod on All-Tracks Shuffle:

Radiohead - Reckoner from In_Rainbows
The Fiery Furnaces - The Old Hag is Sleeping from Widow City
Miles Davis - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise from In Person Saturday Night at the Blackhawk
Bill Evans - I Wish I Knew from Explorations
The Dresden Dolls - Bad Habit from The Dresden Dolls
The Dresden Dolls - A Night At The Roses from No, Virginia (iTunes Bonus Tracks)
James Carter - Low Flame from Live At Baker's Keyboard Lounge
Bjork - Where Is The Line from Medulla
David Bowie - I'm Deranged from Outside
Chris Weisman - Weak Dollar from Bicycle Operator And Coach

Recommended Listening

I'm listening to Jake (age 10) practice the drums upstairs. He's got his groove going. There's nothing like listening to your child while he or she is totally immersed in making music.

I've also been listening to a lot of amazing recordings from my library that I'd not heard for some time. All a result of loading up that new iPod (still loading - only about 1/6 of the way through the memory!). If you're looking for something to check out, try listening to this:

Yael Naim & David Donatien. It was a gift from a friend last year and I'd listened to it a little bit when I first received it, but now that it's on my iPod, I've been exploring it. Her voice is beautiful, and the songs are interesting. You can sample their music at http://www.myspace.com/yaelnaim. You can also visit their site: http://www.yaelweb.com/. Let me know what you think.

Done

The Poo Poo Platters handed in their CD at RPM Central (the offices of The Wire newspaper) this afternoon at approximately 3:30 pm. We ran into George on our way in - he had just dropped off his CD. Congrats to George and all the others who completed this year's challenge. I, unfortunately, never found the time to record. I take solace in the fact that I make my living as a musician/educator, so I get to make music every day.

The new CD is titled "Devil's Beat" and the tracks are as follows:

1. Disco Devil
2. Knights and Kings
3. Devil's Beat
4. The Bird Keeps Crying
5. Vanity Fair
6. Brazil
7. Splat
8. Flags of the World
9. Drum Beat
10. Funkin' It 2000
11. Shoot Me
12. August
13. Jam/Those Girls
14. Dad Says Homework, I Say Rock

Two of the tracks are up at www.myspace.com/thepoopooplatters. The boys wrote all of the songs themselves. The only title they didn't come up with on their own is "Dad Says Homework, I Say Rock", which was the winning title in a title contest they had on the RPM website discussion board. It was another amazing February of bonding with the boys and recording their music. Hard to believe this is the third straight year we've done this. Awesome.

The Point of It All

I was just reminded of the brilliance of Amanda Palmer and her marketing team.

I had a great day today. Spent the day in Boston with Katie and the boys. The Poo Poo Platters had to check out the guitar collection at the Boston Hard Rock Cafe - their first time there (and actually the first time I'd stepped into a Hard Rock Cafe since the 1980s). Then we walked down Newbury Street, went to visit my sister Lori at her office, got some dessert at the Trident Bookstore/Cafe (another place I hadn't been to since the 1980s), and then some CD shopping at Newbury Comics. Off to Quincy Market for a light dinner, followed by a visit to the Institute of Contemporary Art to see the Shepard Fairey exhibit (hopefully more on that in a future post). Then the short drive back to Portsmouth - a wonderful vacation day since the boys have no school this week. Very cool.

So I arrive home to a ton a e-mail, and there in the middle is notification from Amanda that the Alternate Takes version of her latest CD is ready for me to download. For those who didn't read my posts on Amanda's latest album, look here. This is where the brilliant marketing comes in.

When I bought my advance copy of "Who Killed Amanda Palmer" last September, I paid a higher price than for just the CD. I paid for some cool bonus stuff - some of which came immediately, and some of which I had to wait for. The bonus items included a t-shirt (mailed with the CD), the ability to download the CD a week prior to its release, the actual CD with the case autographed by Amanda, some bonus tracks immediately with the early download, and finally, the promise of another CD, to be downloadable in the future. It was originally promised for November/December, but didn't arrive. I didn't give up, knowing that it is not unusual for these things to take more time than expected - especially with a small outfit, like Amanda's, considering she's been touring almost constantly since the fall.

Well, the bonus CD arrived today and it is an alternate version of the album released in September. Not a fully polished CD, but an interesting take on the material, with different versions of many of the songs, some songs that were never recorded for the CD, and even a song titled "Boyfriend in a Coma" which at first I thought was Smiths cover but turned out to be another original that didn't make the CD (the Smiths tune is actually "Girlfriend in a Coma"). I'd listened to "Who Killed Amanda Palmer" a lot last fall. Went to the Boston show. And have not been listening to it a lot lately, because I've moved on to other recordings. This new CD (I say CD, but really it is just a series of tracks I downloaded to my iPod - I'll most likely never own a hard copy of this one, truly bringing the media into the new age) is reaquainting me with the music, in a fresh and exciting way.

The music I know is different on this CD. Sometimes with different chord changes, sometimes with added sections. It's very cool for a fan to hear this - a snapshot of a particular moment in the music's evolution. As a composer, I love hearing this stuff. Not polished, but in many cases they are works in progress.

Amanda gets it. Why the labels don't, I can't figure out. I'm tired of hearing record producers refer to artists as "products" or "commodities". It's nice to be treated like a music fan, and not a consumer. Thanks, Amanda and friends for making that a reality. Again, very cool.

Some great CD (re)discoveries while populating my iPod

Making the leap to an iPod

I've never owned an iPod, until Katie bought me one this week for my birthday. Don't get me wrong - I've owned mp3 players for the past 5-10 years - mostly Creative Zen media players. I carry my music with me everywhere. But I'd resisted owning an iPod because iTunes does not offer a subscription service. I've been waiting for another company to design a device to rival the iPod, allowing me to purchase a great device and access the Napster To Go subscription library (unlimited downloads to your mp3 player for a small montly fee). Napster To Go has been great for my teaching, since I've been able to download any recording and play them for my students, without having to go out and buy the CD. This is great for teaching jazz tunes, when you want your student to hear ten different versions of "Autumn Leaves" (all of them classics) without having to seek out and purchase ten different CDs. This is where iTunes falls behind, and why I hope it will one day be a subscription service. When that happens, music listening will explode, as people will be able to access millions of recordings for a small monthly fee. That, in my opinion, is the future.

For now, I am going through the wonderful journey of populating my new iPod with my music library. I've been collecting CDs for over 20 years. Since I am a musician by profession, my guess is that my collection is larger than that of the average person - though maybe not as impressive as many music enthusiasts. So far I've loaded about 75 CDs onto my device and I'm just scratching the surface of its memory capabilities. This is a good thing, since I have several hundred more to add.

I find myself rediscovering music. Things I've not listened to in ages. And I'm finding misplaced CDs. The treasure of this morning was discovering Michael Brecker's "Pilgrimage" inside the case for the Debussy and Ravel String Quartets. I've been looking for that CD for over a year! As I type this, I am loading Ornette Coleman's Pulitzer Prize winning CD "Sound Grammar". Next up, Glenn Gould's recording of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" - the 1955 recording. As a music lover, this is downright exciting.

Of course, the newness of the whole deal will pass - but I will, for the very first time, have nearly my entire CD collection in the palm of my hand. This is very cool. I highly recommend it.

RPM Status Report

It is February 22nd, and the boys are about half-way done with their RPM CD. I have yet to start. It's been a busy month at work, so I'm behind scheudle. But, knock on wood, I've yet to get sick this month, even with the flu begin passed around the school. It is very convenient that this week is school vacation, so my hope is that during these last seven days of February, I can create my RPM CD. The Boys will be done today or tomorrow.

Yesterday Chip and Mickey from Shagbark came to record a tune with the boys. It was a good session, and Mickey is coming back today to finish up the vocal track. My hope is that the boys can lay down another four or five tracks today and almost finish thier CD (they have six of 14 tracks laid down).

It should be a busy week.

Saturday Shuffle

I received an iPod from Katie for my birthday. Believe it or not, I've never owned an iPod. I've had several Creative Zen Media Players, but never the iconic pod. I've been populating the huge drive (120 gig) with my library. As I type this I'm actually ripping the 22 disc Stravinsky collection I recently purchased to iTunes. As I do this, I have the iPod, with the 300 or so tunes I've already synched, playing on shuffle. Here's the random selection my iPod picked out, just for me (listed with song title first, followed by artist):

Coin-Operated Boy - The Dresden Dolls
Stumbleine - The Smashing Pumpkins
Tag Along - Missy Bly
Automatic Husband - The Fiery Furnaces
Cat People (Putting Out Fire) - David Bowie
The Con - Tegan and Sara
Life On Mars? (Live at Fashion Rocks) - Arcade Fire with David Bowie
Panic in Detroit - David Bowie
Five Years (Live at Fashion Rocks) - Arcade Fire with David Bowie
The Family Llama - Missy Bly
Guitar Hero - Amanda Palmer
Radio Free Europe - R.E.M.
The Dreamers - David Bowie
Poor Little Rich Boy - Regina Spektor
Beat's Remark - Branford Marsalis
Dewey Baby - Branford Marsalis
B.O.A.C. - Chris Weisman
Battle for Britain (The Letter) - David Bowie
Muzzle - The Smashing Pumpkins
O.K.O.T.F. - Chris Weisman (fyi - one of my favorite of Chris' songs!)

Noting the obvious: I've only just begun to load my library, and it is currently a bit David Bowie heavy, and has very little jazz or classical. That will change day by day - I hope to have it fully loaded by March 1! Now you know how I'll be spending my evenings this week...

It is Radiohead

Several people have asked me about the video I posted last week from the Grammys. The singer is Thom Yorke and the guitarist is Jonny Greenwood, both from Radiohead, performing Radiohead's 15 Step with the USC Marching Band. Katie and I saw Radiohead at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA last August. (Not sure what they will be calling the venue now that Tweeter has gone belly up.) The song is from In_Rainbows Radiohead's late 2007 release that was met with much press when they sold it over the internet without a distributor, and allowed the public to pay whatever they wanted for the album - even nothing if the buyer didn't want to pay. A groundbreaking way to market music in today's evolving market.

To see the AMAZING Grammys video again, click here.

And for my rant on the evolution of the record inductry, go here.

Laura Gibson

I'm not at all familiar with the music of Laura Gibson, so I'm very intrigued by NPR's assertation that her new CD (to be released next week, 2/24), Beasts of Seasons, "is nothing short of a masterpiece, both for its flawless and often haunting execution and for its inspired statements on the human experience." It is a sentiment that I'm running into in various other places on the net - so I'm curious.

On first listening, she reminds me of the incredilby awesome Regina Spektor - and I get worried when an artist sounds so similar to another. But the more I listen, the more I hear Laura Gibson, not a Regina Spektor rip-off. The songs are very touching. NPR is so excited about this release, they are currently streaming the CD in its entirety. You can listen to it here. At just over 39 minutes, its relatively short. Let me know what you think.

New Poo Poo Platters Video

Last week, when Max and Jake recorded their first RPM Challenge song of 2009, I filmed the session with their Flip Video Camera. Here is a video I put together from the recording sesson. Enjoy!

I'm back

Took me a few days to recover from Jazz Night - two great, packed shows. It's a lot of work, but well worth the effort. Thus, I neglect the blog.

Recommended listening for today:

The Bad Plus - For All I Care

The Fiery Furnaces - Remember (live)

Luminescent Orchestrii - Too Hot To Sleep

Among the many good reasons why iTunes should become a subscription based service, finally allowing me to purchase my first iPod....for now I'll live with Napster.

Knights and Kings

The first track of the new Poo Poo Platters album is up on their MySpace Music Page. Check it out.

February is already CRAZY!!!

Been oh-so-busy the past few days, without time to post. For those interested in the dymanic duo of Max and Jake (my sons), aka The Poo Poo Platters, check out their latest tune, recorded just this Sunday, Feb. 1, for the RPM Challenge. It is called Knights and Kings and is the first track on their MySpace Music page here.

New Release by The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus is releasing a new CD on February 3rd (the week of PMAC's Jazz Night, FYI), titled For All I Care with vocalist Wendy Lewis. I am really eager to hear this CD, as The Bad Plus are phenomenal. I'm a bit nervous as early reviews on the net are not great. But I'll wait to hear the recording before forming an opinion. They'll be at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston on April 3rd. If you haven't seen them live, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Gearing up for the 2009 RPM Challenge

This will be my third year participating in RPM. In 2007 I recorded my own album, Eclecticality, and produced the first Poo Poo Platters CD. In 2008 I was sick for much of the month, so I only produced the PPP, and never had a chance to record an album of my own. Hopefully the health gods will be on my side this year and I'll be able to both record the third offering of the PPP and an album of my own. I've begun the process of brainstorming what I want this album to be. I might even attempt to post my tracks here as I record them - like the much esteemed Kim Vermillion. We'll see. Regardless, the PPP, are in top form and will be posting their tunes on their MySpace page as throughout February as they record.

Annoying fact: The "N" on my laptop keyboard is starting to fail. Any advice for quick keyboard fixes? It is currently working only about 70% of the time and I have a hunch that it will quickly decline if not addressed.

Current Listening

Shamelessly Sassy recently twittered a request for new music, asking what people are listening to. I gave a brief twitter response, but have thought more about it since then. Here are some CDs I spent a lot of time listening to in 2008. They are not all new recordings, just recordings I've spent a lot of time with this past year. I highly recommend all of them (listed in no particular order):

Who Killed Amanda Palmer? - Amanda Palmer
Let Freedom Ring - Jackie McLean
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
No, Virginia - The Dresden Dolls
Widow City - The Fiery Furnaces
In Rainbows - Radiohead
The Way To Normal - Ben Folds
Soviet Kitsch - Regina Spektor
Rise Above - The Dirty Projectors
Viva la Vida - Coldplay
Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
The White Album - The Beatles

I'm eager for new listening - any recommendations?