The Various Voices of Hoover(phonic)

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings

Up until today, I thought that Geike Arnaert was the only singer Hooverphonic ever had. I was wrong. Pleasantly wrong, at that.

Their original lead singer now goes by Suzanina, but onĀ  A New Sterephonic Sound Spectacular, she went by Liesje Sadonius. A quick Google search finds that she has a 4-track release, Heavenly Juice. I can’t find a CD for it on any of the normal CD-selling sites, but it’s on Amazon and iTunes. The title is perfect for the music. It reminds me of the first time I had a fresh off-the-tree peach. Nothing store-bought or chemically treated, this peach was succulent, flavorful and alive. Eating it was the closest thing I could imagine to fruit-utopia. Suzanina’s music reminds me of the peach. It’s just as succulent, the music explodes on my ears like the peach juice on my tastebuds, and it really is just that heavenly to listen to. To quote my wife as she’s sitting behind me playing Tetris on her phone, “Man … you really do find some cool music.” Yes I do, sweetie. Yes I do. šŸ™‚

Did you know that Geike Arnaert has moved on from Hooverphonic? I mean, I knew … but did you? She’s working on solo material that isn’t going to be out for a while, but I’m excited to see what she comes up with. She didn’t have a very large role contributing to Hooverphonic other than her vocals (but what she did contribute was divine), so what she comes up with musically is leaving me extremely curious. Her site is “currently under construction,” so keep an eye out for when it comes back up.

Meanwhile, Hooverphonic is alive and well. With the departure of Geike, they picked up Noemie Wolfs. They released The Night Before in Europe late last year. Amazon has imports, but that’s it. Truthfully, this CD probably won’t appeal to the Blue Wonder Powder Milk Hooverphonic fans, but make no mistake about it–this CD is good. Unfortunately, that’s about all that can be said for it. It’s definitely more organic and stripped down than past Hooverphonic CDs. In place of synthesizers and keyboards, we’re given pianos, actual guitars and strings. It’s not a bad combo, but it’s such a departure from the group who, for 12 years, has been giving us sound-sampled synth-pop. To shift gears like this is almost the equivalent of throwing the car in reverse and backing away from where they should be heading.

Ahh … but there’s the rub. I’m putting my expectations of what I think the band should be producing. And make no mistake about it–I am most definitely not in the band. If I were to listen to this CD without a band name attached to it, I would definitely rate it higher than I currently do with the Hooverphonic brand affixed. Which kind of makes me question my rating system. I mean, that’s a total bias. And I really need to leave that at the door.

Anyway, there ya go. Hooverphonic. Gotta love ’em.

http://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Juice/dp/B003TXQG58/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1299036105&sr=8-1

Review: TuneUp Media for iTunes and Windows Media Player

/ / Opinion, rantings, review, software

It seems that everything I review lately comes from a recommendation from a tweet. Today is no different, but it’s definitely one worth mentioning.

In my iTunes library, I have a bunch of CDs that don’t have album art. Keep in mind that I have a lot of obscure stuff that iTunes doesn’t recognize anyway. I have to manually fat-finger in the album title, artist, and track titles. That gets seriously tedious. Also, it won’t find the album artwork, so even when I get done entering everything, I’m still without a pretty picture to associate with the CD.

Enter TuneUp Media. This is seriously like the Blarney stone of music. To be upfront and honest, it does cost: $30 for the unlimited use; $20 for one year of use, and free if you have a 100-song library. The free version is almost an insult. Who has a 100-song library …? Even my mother in law has more than that. That’s the equivalent of ~10 CDs.

I obtained the unlimited use version. Once it installs, you have to create an account and use the license key provided at the time of purchase to activate it. After that, you’re up and running, and the fun begins.

It’s not flawless, but it’s pretty close. I had almost 500 CDs that didn’t have cover art prior to installing TuneUp. After it ran the Cover Art clean and scrub, I was left with only 80 CDs without cover art. These are CDs like Nitin Sawhney: Spiritual Life Music, various concert recordings that don’t have an official title, Centipede E’est, Deathmole … those kinds of CDs. Everything else was covered!

You can also clean up your ID3 tags rapid-fire. The software will search high and low to find the CD information and fill in the gaps, like track number, track title, CD title, and artist. If I’m right, it kind of works like a private investigator works: you give it what little information you have, and it finds the rest. Say you have 3 or 4 track titles, but no artist or CD title. Based on those 3 or 4 tracks, it can scour whatever database it uses, find the right CD, and fill in the blanks. Pretty cool, eh?!

If you click on the Tuniverse tab, you’ll find a wealth of information about the artist currently playing. I clicked on a-ha’s “Take On Me,” and I got a brief wikipedia synopsis and eBay auctions for various merchandise. Other available datapoints include YouTube videos, album recommendations, news, concert notifications … this thing is slick.

My favorite tab is the Concerts tab. TuneUp scours your library and reports on what concerts are coming up in your area. So far, I have concerts listed for Elephant Revival, Eisley, St. Vincent, My Chemical romance and Neon Trees (joint bill), The Joy Formidable, Arcade Fire, Deftones, Yanni, Of Montreal, and U2. That’s just amazing. And we’re not talking shows at major venues; locally, we’re talking Kilby Court, In the Venue, and The Depot (one of my favorite venues of all time).

Under the Share tab, you can post your last 5 songs played, Songs Most played, Top Artists in Collection, and Favorite Artists to Facebook. Not seeing any Twitter connectivity … maybe that’s down the road. I don’t know.

Anyway, yah. This thing is wicked awesome. I highly recommend ponying up the $30 and making this a long-term companion to your media player of choice (read: of the two it currently supports).

I Want My *M*TV …

/ / Blah-ness, Opinion, rantings

Once upon a time, there was a mystical, magical channel that played *NOTHING* but music. Not only did this channel play music … the music was accompanied by a short movie that generally coincided with the length of the song. This was called a “video.” This channel played videos by all kinds of bands: pop, top 40, rock, metal, alternative, new wave, grunge … just about every genre was represented.

That was then. This is now. Notice anything? Or, more accurately stated, do you notice the absence of anything? Like … MUSIC? Not one show in there has anything to with actual music. There may or may not be musical celebrities attached in some nebulous way to one or two of the shows … but that’s it.

Do you remember the days where Kurt Loader would get us pumped up for the newest [insert band name here] video? Where the hell did Kennedy go? Or Matt Pinfield?

To be fair, I’m sure this is the result of the natural progression of stupidity as a bunch of marketers sat around and decided to “branch out”–trying new show here, throwing in a game show there … but at least the game show/s was/were music related! Hell, even some of the more recent shows (e.g. Pimp My Ride, whatever that “crib” show was) at least occasionally managed to squeeze in a musical artist. Anymore, and it’s “Jersey Shore” and “Skins” that are the channel’s “A-list” shows. And we sit around and wonder why it is that kids are becoming less intelligent.

Whatever. I choose not to even pause on “M”TV anymore because I’m 100% positive that there’s nothing there that could possibly pique my interest. There hasn’t been for years; why would anything change?

And Now for Something Completely Pomplamoose

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings, review

So … yah. This is the specifc reason I live for finding new music. I’m fairly confident I’m late to the scene with these guys, but better late than never. Right?

I’ve been kind of tweeting/facebooking/blog-commenting back and forth with a certain writer out in San Francisco. Every so often, this “Pomplamoose” band name would pop up, and I’d think, “Hmm. Wonder what they’re like.” This volley string has been going on for several weeks. Finally, tonight, I asked about them. She pointed me to a couple of websites, I grabbed the music, and checked out a few videos on YouTube.

I’ve had one other band hit me with the force that these guys have: Muse. Not that they’re at all like Muse; the styles are radically different. Muse is Muse. Pomplamoose … wow. The voice. The beauty of the music. Ignore the fact that the music is pure, organic, and just flat-out amazing. Check the YouTube channel, fer cryin’ out loud. Remember when MTV didn’t suck? Remember how they used to play videos? These are the kinds of videos they should be playing. They’re FUN! And you can tell that they had a lot of fun making them. I’d love to see if their live show is similar to one of these videos. Incredible work.

So who exactly is Pomplamoose?

They are Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. Their Facebook page says “Northern California” for the location, but I’m guessing that they’re at least close to San Francisco. I could be wrong. I have my reasons for thinking this, but it’s just speculation on my part. Where they are isn’t necessarily important, for that matter. What does matter is their incredible music. Jack’s over-exuberant drum playing, shot from different angles, is a blast to watch. His enthusiasm for everything is infectious and inspiring. Nataly’s voice is pure platinum. I would try to compare her to Feist, but it’s not a fair comparison. Feist doesn’t do her own harmonies. Nataly does. Granted, it’s done over various takes, but ya know what? It sounds awesome.

Three of my favorite tracks so far “Expiration Date,” “Little Things,” and “Centrifuge.” “Little Things” discusses what it really is that makes love great. “Saying that my cooking’s great while you try to hide a stomache ache, you really didn’t have to … Loves the little things that changes everything.” That line is just great. And all their songs are filled with cool lyrics.

To provide you with an example of what their videos are like, check out “Centrifuge.” I love the different angles of everyone who’s contributing. I love that they use an upgraded version of a kid’s xylophone. Around 2:16 they start all these awesome little dances. FUN! Also … watch for the sax solo. Even more fun.

Their music is happy. It’s bright. It’s shiny. They remind me of the Weepies; it’s almost impossible not to smile while listening to either of them. Above all, they’re fun. They’re fun to listen to, they’re fun to watch … I can only imagine what a live show would be like.

So there it is. Pomplamoose–a great find! File this under “shake” cuz you’re gonna want to get up and move!

 

 

 

Relaxing Evening with Photomatix and Metallica

/ / Blah-ness, Opinion, rantings

Yes, you read that right–relaxing evening with Metallica. Garage Days Re-Revisited. Well, the Garage Inc. Version, anyway. Lots more songs on it than the 5.98 EP, so it works for me.

Is it wrong that I still loathe Bob Rock for taking their incredible sound and literally destroying it? I mean, … and Justice for All was just so amazing, regardless of what Jason Newsted being relegated to almost non-existence. At least for that CD. I don’t know. The black album had some gems, but … it really was the beginning of the end, and for 17 years, they tried denying it. The black album, Load, Reload … just weren’t anything special. Again, some good songs, but … that’s it. It was extremely difficult to listen to those two CDs all the way through without skipping at least half the tracks. Compare that to Kill ’em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and Justice. Every single song on those 4 CDs are winners. Well, okay … if we’re being totally honest and open, Kill ’em All had a few relative duds, but those “duds” still kicked ass over most anything on the 3 aforementioned weak CDs.

St. Anger … what? Does anyone even talk about that CD? Seriously?

Their saving grace from the ultimate “Fade to Black” was writing Death Magnetic. While it definitely shows James’ age and voice deterioration, it also shows that they still have some balls left. I’ve written a review of the whole CD a while back, so no need to rehash it here. It just amazes me that after … I don’t know. They didn’t quite suck cuz they did have some great songs, and hoorah to them for trying to branch out. I just don’t think it worked out in their favor. They might have been commercially wildly successful. That doesn’t mean they were good. Not in my book.

Anyway, ever since I was in high school, I’ve always found some soothing element in listening to Metallica. I can’t explain it. Pantera doesn’t have that affect. Iron Maiden doesn’t either. No other metal-style band does. Of course, artists like Azam Ali, Marissa Nadler, Sarah Fimm … of course they have a soothing and relaxing effect. They’re *supposed* to. So go figure. Not sure what the deal is. Don’t care, either. šŸ˜‰

Speaking of Photomatix, these HDR images aren’t gonna tweak themselves.

Spamming Spammers and the Spam They Spam

/ / Opinion, rantings

As you’ve no doubt noticed, there aren’t a lot of legitimate comments that get posted here. I’m okay with that. It’d be great if people commented, but really, not a big deal. What I find hilarious are some of the spam comments. I mean … come on. At least *try* to say something non-generic. Or English, since I write in English. At least write something intelligent or legible, as a bare minimum.

These two are a small sample of the hud I receive.

*ahem*

“I would equal to add your journal to my blogroll gratify bowman me what mainstay should I use?” Umm … what?

“Superb blog post, I acquire book credible this internet website so alluringly Iā€™ll see abounding added on this answerable in the answerable future!” Pure joy, right here.

Aren’t those great?! I mean, WOW! It actually makes me cringe. But seriously. How funny.

Update March 6 2011

Here’s another gem–it smacks of “Google Translator.”

Good day Site owner. My companion and i truly just like the posting and the web site all in all! Your submit could be very plainly written in addition to without issue understandable. The Weblog theme is wonderful as effectively! Would definitely be great to know precisely where I can acquire it. If possible keep up the good job. All of us need much more this type of website house owners reminiscent of you online and also much less spammers. Wonderful mate!

Indeed, if at all possible, I *will* keep up the good job!

The Performances of Gord Downie

/ / Opinion, rantings

If you’ve heard of The Tragically Hip, you’re doing well. If you’ve actually heard them, you’re doing even better. I’m not sure why they’ve never really hit the States with much force; they’re an amazing band for a number of reasons. One of the most amazing things about them is their lead singer, Gordon Downie, often just referred to as “Gord.”

I got into them late in their career. One that that drew me to them as a band was the collection of live recordings my brother bequeathed unto me. Gord is especially well known for his mid-song rants and story-telling tirades. EVERYthing he does and says is pure improv. The most famous, at least as far as I can tell, is simply known as KWT–Killer Whale Tank, performed during “New Orleans Is Sinking,” for those on the outside. The story is about him as a clean-and-scrub man at an aquarium where he befriends a killer whale. That’s all I will say. If you want to know the rest of the story, you’ll have to listen to the song.

As a college graduation present, my brother and his wife bought my wife and me tickets to see them at the House of Blues in Las Vegas in August 2002. Very nice of them … except my wife and I decided to move to Phoenix a week after graduating, just to test the job market and see what we could do down there. After discussing it with my brother, we decided that the Vegas trip was still on; all we’d have to do is meet them at the hotel, and we’d go to the show, spend the night in Vegas, then head home the next day.

So we went. It’s about a 6-hour drive from Phoenix to Vegas, and there is little to nothing to see along the way until you get to Hoover dam, which is extremely cool to see. Anyway, we checked in to our hotel, met up with my brother and his wife, and we went to the show. Like I said, it was at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. If you’ve never been to a HoB show, you really owe it to yourself to check one out. the entire venue is open floor, except for the balcony, which also is open, but generally the unspoken rule is that it’s for those who want to enjoy the show but not be bombarded with foreign bodies. The balcony does offer a great location for getting video and/or pics though. No jostling, no harassment … just a great line of site to the stage.

However, on this particular night and show, we came nowhere near the balcony. Instead, we were about as close as we could get to the stage. And what a view it was.
To describe the show adequately is difficult. It was so off the charts on every single level: the music was intense and perfect; the atmosphere was intimate and moody; and Gord Downie … well, he was on a totally different plane of consciousness. He danced and moved like he was the epi-center of an 8.0 earthquake; his rants were so out of left-field that you really have to wonder if this guy is really not on meth, or heroin, or acid … or what he’s on cuz whatever it is, as a writer, I’d love some.
On a scale of 1-10 of intensity and pure entertainment, I would give this show about a 13. Mock the cliche’ off-the-scale reference all you want; it is precisely what it deserves.
So that was the Vegas show. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, and my brother discovered that they were going to be playing in Phoenix the next night. He and his wife talked it over, and they decided to drive back with us, and he and I would go to the show while the wives stayed back at the apartment and hung out–something they hadn’t gotten to do in months, and they were longing for some “girl time,” which we were all to happy for since it meant we got to go to another Hip show!
We got up the next morning, drove back, got to our apartment, got them situated, then we went to find the venue and buy tickets. Amazingly, with 2 hours left before the show, we were able to secure 2nd row seats just to stage right. Totally different venue atmosphere, totally different vibe to the show. This show was beautiful. It was much more … haunting? I guess? Same band. If you were to blindfold someone, play tapes from the two shows and ask “Is this the same band?”, I would dare say that 8 out of 10 would say “no way.” Gord was much more subdued–more loving with the mic and his guitar, more gentle … more caressing. It was the polar opposite of the show from 24 hours previous, and it was just as amazing as the Vegas show.
What it showed me was that this band–specifically, Gord himself–has more of a range of emotion to his ability to perform than anyone I’ve seen. His swing from one night to the next could almost be construed as schizophrenic, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s as down to earth a person as it gets. As a human, he’s very private; he doesn’t like sharing the minute details of his day to day activities. On stage, he becomes The Hip Gord, and it’s a complete toss-up as to which show you’re going to get to see. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter because either way, you’re going to get an amazing treat.

New Foo For You

/ / New Music, Opinion, rantings

Just for fun, I typed #music in twitter’s search field on my phone. The first hit that came up was from @hennemusic. What good news is this! Foo Fighters announce new album details? Read the article on his website here. Not sure where he gleaned his info, but it’s pretty detailed.

I knew that something was in the works, but this is more info than I’ve seen anywhere.Ā Ā So this is great news! They’re a phenomenal act to catch live.Ā Here’s hopingĀ a tour comes by your neck of the woods. If not, saveĀ up your gas money and hit theĀ road. Nothing like a good drive to a “foreign” city to check outĀ incredible music, right? Ā 

Awesome. April 12. Good day to be a Foo fan!

Maybe There’s Hope …

/ / Opinion, rantings

Esperanza Spalding won Best New Artist in one of the most meaningless award ceremonies ever The Grammys last night.

The committee bestowed this honor upon her despite the fact that uber-teen freak-of-the-week Justin Bieber was up for the same award. Thankfully, it seems that the committee had a brief moment of lucidity and awarded the individual who actually has talent. I might not agree with the “new artist” moniker, but whatever–she beat Bieber (“What’s a ‘Biebuh’?!”), and that’s all that matters. I would have been happy if Mumford and Sons or Florence and the MachineĀ had won too, but I’m impressed that they gave the award to someone of her musical background.

This has all the same feel of the 2003 Grammys when Norah Jones stunned the music world by walking off with 5 awards, including Best New Artist. She went up agains Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, and I don’t remember who else, but I can tell you this much–she far and away deserved it. She has infinitely more musical talent than at least those two.

To be clear, I couldn’t care less about the awards as a general rule. The overwhelming feeling to these kinds of award ceremonies is one of favortism and elitism … precisely what I loathe. Like I said, Florence or Mumford would have been fine wins as well, but had that little kid won, I’m afraid that the last flickering candle of hope for the Grammys would have been blown out by the winds of crap. And yes–somewhere in there is a metaphor for passing gas, which is mostly appropriate for that award in the first place. But with Esperanza’s win, who knows where the music acadamy is heading. At least there are signs of life.

Crap. I wrote all that, and now I wonder if there isn’t another point to consider, and I wonder if this oneĀ isn’t more accurate.

Esperanza wasn’t the only talent to take home an award last night. Muse took home an award for best rock album. Arcade Fire brought home an award for album of the year. Right there are two amazing bands. And they went up against some established musicians. Muse won against Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, and Neil frickin’ Young. Arcade Fire beat out Eminem, Katy Perry, Lady Antebellum, and Lady Gag. Well, hmm … okay, so Arcade Fire didn’t have a lot of tough competition, but I’m all for giving Eminem his due. Could’ve gone to him, but AF won out. That’s great. Muse, though … good grief. They took on some power houses, and they were victorious.

So … I think back over the last 10-15 years of winners, and wonder what the talent pool was. I mean, inĀ a case like Norah Jones, look at her competition. She rightly won the award–hands down. When talent rises, talent wins.

Maybe it isn’t the music academy that’s having the rough time; maybe it’s just who’s available at the time. As someone posted in a message board, and I paraphrase, “it’s not about popularity; it’s about talent.” And thankfully, this year’s best new artist proved that.

Cat’s In the Cradle

/ / Blah-ness, Opinion, rantings

It’s no secret that I didn’t have the best relationship with my dad. The history is long, complicated, and as of September 2006, over. He died of cancer in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. He left me and my brother behind, along with his wife and my sister. By the time the end rolled around, we had patched things up and mended our bridges … but things were never quite the same as before.

Long before we made our concerted efforts to stay in contact, I had become aware of Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” song. I don’t remember what I thought of the song the first time I heard it because I was in high school, and “the bomb” hadn’t dropped at that point. However, I do remember the effects of hearing that song for the first time after the bomb had gone off … and it wasn’t pretty. At all. In fact, it still gives me chills just thinking about it.

If you’re not familiar with the song, I … hmm. I would recommend listening to it, but at the same time, I would *strongly* caution that you brace yourself for an emotional storm that you may not be prepared to weather. They lyrics are potent, and they will over-run you if you are caught unaware. Even Harry Chapin said that this song scares him to death.

I have an incredibly up-and-down love/hate relationship with this song. I hate the fact that it reduces me to a puddle of tears just listening to the opening guitar plucking. I also hate the fact that I’m scared shit-less of failing in my responsibilities as a parent. Do I spend enough time with my kids? Am I “that dad”? I’d like to think that the answer is a resounding “NO.” I try to spend time with them. I love sitting with them and watching them do their insanely crazy little things that they do. I love watching them watch something like a documentary (e.g. Planet Earth, Life, etc) because they totally soak it in. I love being with my kids. I don’t think that I put them off very often, and when I do, it’s because I have something that I’m working on. Most of the time. Yah, sometimes I need some quiet, alone time. Every parent does. My wife especially does cuz she’s with them all day. But for the most part, I work very hard to NOT BE the father in the song.

However, I also love this song for the very reason that it *does* drive me to break the cycle. I want to be a better dad than what I had growing up because of this song. Yet, back to the hate-part of the relationship, I hate feeling like I need a motivation to want to be with my kids. I DON’T need that motivation, yet … I find myself coming back to these lyrics whenever I feel like I’m not spending enough time with them. Do you know what I mean? Cuz if you do, you’re probably two steps ahead of me.

So there it is: the love/hate relationship.

Now … to be fair, I think one of the reasons that I become so emotional over Harry Chapin’s version is because it’s so hauntingly melodic. The music itself is like a dagger piercing the heart with every pained word. The Ugly Kid Joe version of this song doesn’t have the same effect on me. However, I often find myself drawn to their version for a number of reasons. For one, their sound is nearly perfect for it. Grungy, dirty, distorted guitar riffs; heavy, weighted sounds; Whit Crane’s grueling, gutteral, gritty vocals that bring out the agony and pain that the song so vividly portrays … I could listen to that version a lot easier than Mr. Chapin’s comparative crooning.

So why discuss this song? Where is this coming from?

Oddly, it was quote in a church sermon I heard today. Not just a snippet or a stanza …it was the whole song. And as the guy speaking kept quoting, I found myself having a harder and harder time fighting back the tears. By the time he got to the last part of the song, I couldn’t see straight. My eyes were stinging, my body was shaking from trying to hold back the sobs. My 5 year old daughter noticed my distress, and without saying a word, she just crawled up on my lap and whispered, “Don’t worry, daddy. It will be okay!”, at which point I just flat-out lost it. I gave her the biggest hug, and let it all flow out. My poor kids … they have no idea how messed up their daddy is when it comes to actually being a parent. It scares me to death to think that I’m going to screw this up and let them down somehow. I know the effect it can have on a kid, and I cannot have my girls go through that.

If any of you out there have kids, or if any of you are that kid in the song, break the cycle. Be the one to step up and say, “We’re better than this.” You have precisely one life. Nothing can be gained by not mending fences, or at least trying to mend them. Be you the parent or the child … it’s never too late to attempt to fix the past and say that, from this moment forward, the past is just that–the past. Move past the hate and resentment and push through to the forgiveness and love. Just do it.

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