the lure of a good tune

no matter how hard i try, no matter how much i listen to new music, no matter how many new cds i buy, i am still drawn back to Monarch. there is something magnetic, perhaps even carnal, about that music.
i was introduced to them a few years ago in a very strange way. i was checking out this record labels website and there just so happened to be a music player playing songs from all the different bands on the label. (if you must know, i was checking out a joy electric side band cd on northern records) and there it was: the most shockingly beautiful music my ears had heard in many moons. it took me a minute or two to discover who it was that was playing on that player, but once i did it toon me about thirty seconds to speed to the online store and buy a copy of it! and, fortunately, it is one of those few gems: the rest of the songs were actually better than the one that had caught my attention!
as far as i can tell they only released one album, the promptly broke up. the name of the album is 'the grandeur of rome', and you can buy it here. the sound is unique- something special to be sure. it has guitars, drums, a piano, and a string section. there are heavy beats, strong hooks, and a piano that will break your heart. the vocals are airy- but not in a breathy way (try and make sense of that...)
im not sure if there is any way to listen to it online, but if you get the change, give it a listen. or just buy it.

sorry...

in a moment of weakness, i must confess. im thinking i might want to pick up that kelly clarkson cd. im sorry. let us never speak of this again.

the verve pipe concert

my favorite band is joy electric. i have been obsessed with them for a while now. but there once was a time before i had ever heard of joy electric. shocking, i know. at that time my favorite band was a little local west michigan band that soon hit it big.
it was the verve pipe. that name might sound vaguely familiar to you because about 9 years ago they had one hit. and that was all. it was the song 'freshman'. when it came out in '97 many people got sick of it quickly because they overplayed it on the radio. well, imagine my situation: they band was really big in grand rapids when i was growing up because to us they were 'the hometown boys' and were local favorites even before they had the record label deal. so the local radio stations would play their songs all the time. and of couse they would typically play 'freshman'. lucky me, i got to hear it over played twice! the thing is though, i never got sick of it. im still not sick of it. i totally love it. unfortuantely the band broke up a few years ago and the the lead singer (brian vander ark) has since been making a go of his solo career. ive seen verve pipe many times over the years, once when i had no idea who they were but was told 'check em out, youll like em...', and a few times since. i also was able to see brian solo a few times in chicago at the house of blues. i had figured there wasnt a chance to ever see verve pipe live again.
imagine my excitement when i had come to learn that the verve pipe was going to be playing a one-time-only reunion show in grand rapids- and i was actually going to be around for it!!! so i called up my buddies, some were fans as well, some wernt, and we made plans.
the show was on december 23 and it was amazing!!! the boys played their hearts out and proved that they still got it. it was great fun, they played quite a varied assortment of music. they pulled out some of their hits, some of their new stuff, and some of the classics that needed a bit of dusting off, they even threw in some great cover songs. certainly a solid show, one of the best ive seen in a long time. i was easily reminded of what i loved about them so much.