those crazy monkeys!

i was over at aarons the other day and we were talking about a song that was on the radio last time we hung out. neither of us had heard it before but we both really liked it. he figured out what it was: DARE by the gorillaz. cool! they just keep surprising me with how cool their stuff is. i have their first album, but im thinking i should pick up their new one...

Marty Casey

last week i got a new cd. i havent gotten a new cd in a while (mostly because i never listen to the radio, so i never get suckered into buying the crap they are playing). last year i was drawn in by rockstar: inxs. i cant defend myself, i know it was really stupid, but i liked it- it was better than american idol at least...
anyway, i really liked one of the singers on there: marty casey. he made it to the last two, but was not chosen the winner. i was mad, but then i thought about it- the person who wins has to sign a contract to sing for inxs. how is that winning? marty got the best deal, he got all the exposure, but he could go back and play with is own band. they even got invited to open for inxs on their world tour.
i got the marty casey cd and the song that he sang a few times, 'trees', is on it. i really digged that song alot. ive only gotten a chance to listen to it through a few times, but it seems cool. its alot more rock than i was expecting, i thought it would be a bit more popish. ill have to listen to it some more to give an accurate review.

an oldie, but a goodie

as a teacher i am always looking for teaching aids. usually that means movies or music that will help get across the ideas that i am teaching. a while ago i found an aid in the most random of places: a band called pegtop. dont feel bad if you dont know who i am talking about, i would actually be more surprised if you knew who they actually were... let me explain:
back in college i found myself with an oportunity to see a band i had never heard of. we were already at the place, it was free to get in, and there was nothing else to do. so we figured why not? i ended up actually liking the band a lot, but my friends didnt really care for it. i ended up buying their album called 'the great reverse'. in the following weeks i found myself, much to my friend's annoyance, playing the cd alot and really loving it. soon after i found their first album 'just us' and picked it up.
fast-forward 5 years... was looking through my cds and was feeling a bit nastalgic. i spotted those pegtop cds and popped them into the player. as it turns out there are a couple of great songs with lyrics that fit perfectly into a couple lessons that i teach! who would have thought, a local folk band from minnisota with no record deal and a 50 gallon drum for a kickdrum would have helped me so much in my teaching!

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.

joy electric: montgolfier and the romantic balloons

last week i received an early christmas present. granted, i bought it for myself, but it still counts. in the mail came the latest release from joy electric (which, by the way, is the greatest band of all time.) and it is great!
joy electric is a very prolific band (20 releases in 11 years and counting...) lately the pattern for joy electric has been to release a full length album every year as well as a companion album that is shorter and more experimental. often the companions will have very unique songs as well as a few remixes from the full length. also, lately there has been at least one 'extra' release each year as well. last year it was a christmas album, this year it was the 'workmanship' vinyl.
the last full length album was called 'the ministry of archers', and it was really good. ever since the misstep of the tick tock treasury joy electric has been growing steadily stronger, including all the inbetween albums. 'ministry of archers' was his best since 'the white songbook' and this newest inbetween album continues the rising quality. the new songs are really good and surpringingly memorable, and the remixes are spot-on (which hasnt always been the case...) all in all, an excellent addition to the ever-expanding library from joy electric.

collective soul

dang. i forgot how much these guys rock! over the weekend directv was showing a free concert of collective soul. i guess it was just highlights from an upcoming live dvd. it was totally rocking good though. the coolest part was that they were being backed by the atlanta youth orchestra. which meant the four guys ripping it up with their guitars, and about 150 teenagers playing orchestral instruments behind them. it was totally awesome! some of the different renditions of their songs were mindblowing!
ive really enjoyed collective soul for many years now. i first gained an interest around the time of 'precious declaration', but i wasnt totally sold until the first time 'dosage' hit my ears. every thing since i have loved. they are actually one of the rare examples of a band that i actually enjoy their back catalog.
one of my favorite songs of theirs has always been 'crown' from dosage. and it just so happens that they best part of the concert is during this song (go figure...) during this song ed (the lead singer) dedicates it to his father who just died last year. he proceeds to sing the entire song without any guitars (which is shocking for collective soul) and only the music of the strings in the orchestra. wow. a truly moving moment. and they end with a rock your socks off finale with 'feels like' from 'youth.'

joy electric: ministry of archers vinyl

one of my favorite bands in the whole world is the genius known as joy electric. my passion for them cannot really be explained. so i wont bother. the reason i even bring it up is that i finally (after about 3 months of waiting) have received their latest full length album on vinyl! i already have the album on cd, but the vinyl one has two extra songs on it, so i of course had to buy it. i am really excited to finally have it. the only problem now is that i dont actually own a record player. oops. probably should have thought that one through, huh?

weird...

yesterday i heard what might be the funniest thing ever. i heard the music group hanson doing a cover of 'optimistic' from Kid A by radio head. wow. i dont think i could have ever put those two together. what a strange combo... and you know what? i kind of dug it.

reliant k: apathetic ep

i know that reliant k has a certain image among many people. most people see them as a group for 12 year old girls. and for the most part i would agree with you. i would, at least, until i got their last cd "mmhmm." it was actually given to me by one of my student for christmas last year (at the time, she was a 12 year old girl. oh the irony...) and i figured id give it a try. im glad that i did. ive heard their old cds and dismissed them as bubble-gum pop that was trying to be silly. for the mmhmm album they totally grew up! there are amazing songs about love, life, death, and taxes. a fantastic album. probably one i would put on a list of must-haves if stranded on an island.
anyway, they just put out a follow-up ep called "apothetic." i picked it up yesterday and its pretty cool so far. there are three accoustic versions of old songs, and four new songs. one of them , called in like a lion is inspired by the narnia books. (actually, im not really sure if it is, but it sure sounds like it...) on first listen, i would say that its a good ep, but it feels really lopsided. the first two songs are more agressive and rocky, but then there are three accoustic songs, and the last two new ones are fairly quite as well. ill keep listening and write again when i have a better feel for the disk.

kevin max: the imposter

i got into christian rock when i was in middle school. my first introduction was the self titled cd by audio adrenaline. (i know, i know, i apologize, but back then i thought it was cool...) another band i thought was cool (and i will still defend this one) was dc talk. i got into them with the jesus freak cd, but really loved the supernatural album. when they announced they were breaking up i was pritty disappointed. then they all released solo stuff. like most people, i was first drawn to toby mac. his song extreme days totally rocks. but i thought the rest of the album was crappy "i want to be a hip hop star" filler. so i moved on. next, i checked out tait. i dug it actually. i really enjoyed his first album, and rather liked his second. i liked it, but never really got into it. on a whim i decided to check out kevin max's album. i gave it a listen, and decided it sucked, so i tucked it away for about 3 years. this spring i happened across it again after all this time. figured id give it a spin, an fell in love! wow! for some reason, all these years later, it really connects with me. i tracked down his short 7 song cd, and now have just gotten his latest from northern records. ive only been through it a few times so far, but i really like it! ill keep listening and get back to you about some of the details...

institute: distort yourself

i am a fan of the music group bush. i must admit that i came to the party a bit late. i wasnt really listening to that kind of music when they showed up on the scene. when i first got into them was actually after razorblade suitcase. unfortunately i had totally missed out on songs like come down and machine head. i went back and picked them up and really liked their first one, sixteen stone. i really got into them, for reasons i cant really explain, with the song the chemicals between us. i think it was the cool title of the album, the science of things, and the rad video for that song. but, i got that album and really dug it. years later they finally released a follow up with golden state. i didnt really care for it at first, but then it started to grow on me and i listened to it alot. actually, everytime i would play ssx3 video game i would put it on mute and listen to that album (i still instantly think of snowboarding every time i hear that cd) then the band broke up. doh...
i really dig gavin's stuff and was getting frustrated that he hadnt put any solo stuff out. his wife was getting all the attention, and the real musical genious of the family was playing second fiddle. well, finally this summer he released another album with a new band called institute. kind of a dumb name, but i can get over it. anyway, its totally awesome. ive had it in my car cd player for about the last month straight. it sounds exactly like bush, but the songs are so good, it sounds like a disc of bush's greatest hits.

a brief summary

i figured i would share a little bit about what i like to listen to. my musical tastes arent very strange at all. they are perfectly normal. if you think they are strange, perhaps it is just you who is the strange one, no?it would probably help to explain my music listening background. i grew up listening to country. not this crappy country thats so popular now, im talking REAL country music- like jonny cash, ronny milsap, oakridge boys, statler brothers, marty robbins, conway twitty, etc. as i began to choose what i wanted to listen to i was introduced by a couple friends to this whole 'christian rock' type stuff. so i started listening to stuff like audio adrenaline, newsboys, dc talk, etc. but i soon grew weary of the generic cookie cutter music and cheap lyrics. i started to explore the more offbeat christian music like joy electric, starflyer 59, ln, pony express, andrew osenga, etc. and still enjoy some of it. otherwise i like some of the stuff on the radio, but the past year or two i have found very few bands that i have any interest in. instead i just keep up with some older bands and enjoy their new stuff. bands like u2, our lady peace, black lab, bush (or now institute), nine inch nails, smashing pumpkins, verve pipe (or now brian vander ark), hootie and the blowfish, michael jackson, and a few others. anyway, thats my musical tastes in a nutshell. that should give you an idea of what kind of stuff i dig...