black lab: give us sugar

ever since college i have been a fan of black lab. when they first came out it was right during the hay day of 90's rock grunge (which is my favorite!), they had a couple hits on the radio which were really cool. when i lived with rex at college he had their 'your body above me' album and we would rock out to it regularly. the problem, though, was that they never came out with a follow up. a few years later rex and i were talking about music and black lab came up. i thought 'dude, we should totally check and see if they have put out anything else since their first one!' so i did a little online searching (i would say i googled it, but this was before google...) and found that they had released a five song disc with a few songs from what they would eventually release. i got rex and i each a copy of it and it was amazing! the short sampler, called 'i feel fine', was amazing and reminded us both why black lab rocks so much! since then they have released two full length albums, which i have also gotten from their website. i even signed up for the email newsletters that the lead singer/songwriter paul puts out sometimes(i'm a major dork, i know). over the summer i got an email from the lead singer and he said that he was going to make a couple hundred double disc albums of some of the band's unreleased stuff. i quickly ordered myself a copy and got one of the first prints of the album! it is really good too. there are over thirty tracks on it, some of them are extra songs from different recording sessions that didn't quite make it on the albums they were recorded for, some are rough demos of songs that he did release, and others were songs featured on movie soundtracks. there are many gems in the bunch, but the best part is being able to hear paul's different takes on some of the songs, hearing them in their rough forms, and listening to some of the more unusual songs that didn't fit the albums they were written for. its a ton of music, and a really cool look into the different branches the band has taken.

beyonce: i am sasha fierce

for her birthday i got the new one from beyonce for my wife. i didn't mess around either, i got the deluxe edition, which featured five extra songs. this album is divided up into two discs for some reason, one of them is the slow, heart felt stuff, and the other disc is all the loud dance floor tunes. now, i personally have never cared for beyonce or her music, but having listened to it often (diana usually has it playing in her car when we go out anywhere), i have to admit, its actually not bad. no, i will go even further than that, i will admit that i actually like it! the only song i had known before was the 'put a ring on it' song, but i really love 'if i were a boy', and 'halo' (which diana said reminds her of me, so for that reason alone i like the song!). now, dont worry, i'm not going all hip-hop or anything, but i have to give recognition to a great album when i hear it.

our wedding cd

diana and i made a mix cd for our wedding and we gave it out to all the guests during the reception. the songs are a collection of different tunes that have played a part in our relationship. some of them come from different mix cds that diana and i have made for each other while we were dating, others are ones that we have heard while we were together that we both loved. here is the song list from the cd. some of them we dont actually know the names of or the artist of, but we know we love the songs!

this collection of songs is the soundtrack to our relationship- the music we fell in love to!

1. better together by jack johnson

2. dance away the city by andrew osenga

3. the best thing by relient k

4. kiss me by sixpence none the richer

5. such great heights by iron and wine

6. 500 miles by the pretenders

7. the lining is silver by relient k

8. when the day met the night by panic at the disco

9. sugar rush by joy electric

10. something beautiful by newsboys

11. i got my mind set on you by george harrison

12. i want all of you by verve pipe

13. by jack johnson

14. i'm taking you with me by relient k

15. birdhouse in your soul by they might be giants

16. never let you down by verve pipe

17. what do i care? by johnny cash

18. it's always you

19. reach your love by paul mccartney

20. take my life and let it be by andrew osenga

nine inch nails: ghosts I-IV

recently trent reznor, the man behind 'nine inch nails', has released a bit of music exclusively from his website. i became a fan of the band a few years back with the release of the album 'fragile'. it was a double disc release of songs both loud and dense, as well as some quietly moving songs. since then he has released a couple more albums, 'with teeth' and 'year zero' (as well as a handful of live and remix albums), all of which did not live up to the scope and power of 'fragile'.

my problem with the last two albums is the different direction reznor took. what i loved most about 'fragile' was the melodic flow in the songs, but his last two albums have broken from that style and it seems that he has returned to the more bombastic and chaotic song structure, which i dont care much for.

with his newest release, 'ghosts: I-IV', the pendulum has swung all the way back... and then some! this release is 36 songs broken down into four separate eps. and here is the best part: all 36 tracks are instrumental only! now, dont get me wrong, i dig nins vocals, but this means that the focus is once again put on the music and the melody, where it belongs.

nine inch nails recently finished their contract with their record company, so he is now taking advantage of the chance to self release this album. on his website there are multiple options for getting the songs. a free option is given, but you can only get the first nine tracks. other options include one for ten bucks, one for 75 dollars, and a super duper deluxe edition for $250. amazingly, all 2500 copies of the expensive one sold out almost immediately. which, when you think about it means that he has already netted at least $750,000 dollars from this album. wow! i guess you can do just fine without a recording contract, huh?

im really digging the nine free songs and will probably opt for the ten dollar release soon. go to the site, download it (free!), and decide for yourself!

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!

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.

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?