Been a bit light on my “listening” lately, but here are some current standouts…
- The Hourly Radio, “History Will Never Hold Me”
- Found this band via a rabbit trail on the Zune Marketplace. Perhaps via another recent fav, The Working Title? Anyhow, I’m really enjoying this album so far. It starts off well enough, but seems to pick up steam by the 3rd and 4th tracks. Highly recommended for any ‘Jimmy Eat World’ or ‘The Working Title’ fans.
- Jeremy Enigk, “OK Bear”
- As an old friend (and fan) of Jeremy Enigk, I was definitely looking forward to his next solo album. While “OK Bear” didn’t grab my attention right away, it has since grown on me. I like it quite a bit. I prefer his last release, World Waits, but this is a strong release, and very much ‘Jeremy Enigk’ all the way.
- Edie Brickell, “Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars”
- Sometimes albums don’t really “hit” you for, oh… 20 years or so, as is the case with this release. I heard their big hit “What I Am” on the radio recently, was blown away by the guitar solo, and decided the album was worth checking out again. You know what? It’s really good. The musicianship is amazing, the vocals are great (if a bit lacking in variation), and the whole package has held up quite well since its release in 1989. Give it a spin and see what’cha think!
- Neko Case, NPR “Live Concerts From All Songs Considered”
- Very fun, live Neko Case concert from NPR. I know she’s a talented vocalist, but she’s also really, really funny! Check it out… it’s free! (Note: the humor really takes off about 45 minutes in.)
Y.I.P.C.A.N.J.O 
I keep hearing about Neko Case, but clearly something’s holding me back from listening… oh well, as soon as finances clear up, I’ll see about it. I’ll see about that Edie Brickle too if I remember :P.
I’ve been listening to:
Rose Blossom Punch – Ephemere: I came to the realization that I didn’t personally own this album when I started searching through my computer for it, so since the copy my brother owns is all old and scratched up, I went to Amazon and ordered what was probably the last “like new” CD of it that wasn’t $50+. I always loved this album, and I’m sure it’ll just make me look forward to Fair’s next release even more.
The Mars Volta – Amputechture: For quite a while, I have been just on the brink of buying a Mars Volta album because I had heard so much about them. Well, it turns out that my brother has four Mars Volta albums, so I copied them all to my computer and throughout the week I’ve listened to each one. If you miss everything else about them, you definitely won’t miss the fact that this band is freakin’ nuts with their sound. It’s rockin’, don’t get me wrong, but I couldn’t tell you what kind of music they play if I tried, you’d just have to hear it. To give you an idea though, “Amputechture” is 8 tracks… and an hour and fifteen minutes long.
The Pale Pacific – Urgency: I got a friend of mine listening to this, and it reminded me of how much I like this album. It’s moody, but not whiny. The singing suits the music well. It’s great for those days when I’m just not in the mood for cheerful energetic music. It’s worthy of a few spins, if you ask me.
Thanks for the suggestions, Marcus! I’m *very* familiar with Rose Blossom Punch, of course, though my personal copy has been missing for years. 😦 Not sure why.
Digging ‘The Pale Pacific’ and will check out their latest release as well, Gravity Gets Things Done. Didn’t know these guys was “local boys”!
Mars Volta is, well… a bit of a stretch for me. Clearly these guys are very talented, but it’s almost too frantic for me. Do they “grow on you”, or is first impression the best impression?
It really depends with the Mars Volta. I’d say that you probably will like ’em a bit more after listening more, but I take them for being something one listens to as a break from the normal. In other words, it seems to me that you have to be in the mood for frantic and insane rock when you listen.
One thing I’ve noticed is that pretty much any of Mars Volta’s albums are almost like movies, because if you skipped to, say, track 4, you’ll feel like you just started a DVD halfway through. These guys aren’t exactly light listening.
As for The Pale Pacific, their latest album “Another Innovative Idea for the People on the Go” is okay, I personally prefer Gravity Gets Things Done and Urgency (and its single, “Rules are Predictable”). And yeah, I forgot to mention that they probably live only a hop, skip and a jump away from you.
As for Rose Blossom Punch, somebody needs to find whoever’s got the rights to RBP’s music, be it Aaron Sprinkle or some head honcho at (if it’s still around) Sarabellum/5-minute Walk, and have ’em put both Ephemere AND Sorry To Disappoint You on both iTunes and the Zune Marketplace! Probably not gonna happen or else I imagine it would have by now, but still!
Oh, heh, correction, “Another Innovative Idea” isn’t their latest, it’s actually their second album. I dunno what I was thinkin’! 😛
You was thinkin’ crazy thoughts! 🙂