Weekend Music Roundup

It was full-on summer in my neck of the woods for a good part of this week. I had to bunker down in the basement for a day to avoid the swelter. As a result, my musical tastes took a drastic switch this week. As I've mentioned many times before, the weather greatly affects the music I listen to. Summer for me is a time of guitars played angrily and that's pretty well represented on this week's list. Some old and some new, but together they got me through the heat wave. Then the weather broke and I spent yesterday listening the Natural Snow Buildings seven-hour masterpiece Daughter of Darkness. But that's another story completely. Enjoy.

Black Lips - Arabia Mountain: For nearly a decade, the Atlanta group has been putting out album after album of their lo-fi garage rock. There's always been a bit of unevenness with this band, but that's to be expected given their seemingly carefree attitude toward the process. That said, I feel that with this album and 2009's 200 Million Thousand, the releases have grown more solid. There's no surprises on this one. It's the same brand of fuzzed out little numbers, but it's good. "You Keep On Running" is one of their best songs yet.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues: It's been three years since this Seattle indie folk band's debut brought mainstream attention to the growing folk movement. But the thing Fleet Foxes added to the genre was this choral-like spiritual sound. That continues on this album. In fact, this album deviates very little from the debut. In a way it's odd that three years hasn't changed anything. On the other hand, songs this carefully constructed take time. A very good album, even if it doesn't feel all that fresh.

Joshua - Opens Your Mind: The only album of early '70s Heavy Psych band is a decent addition to the genre. It's pretty standard duel guitar hard rock, but there are definite moments of freak out joy. The song "The Fist" is pretty fantastic. Worth checking out if you played all your early heavy rock to death and are looking for some new sounds to fill the air.

Goblin Cock - Come With Me if you Want to Live: Given the name and the band's ridiculous album covers, it would be easy to assume Goblin Cock were some awful joke. However, the truth is, this is a side project from some members of Pinback and actually quite good. It takes the Pinback sound and adds a level of stoner metal to it. It falls somewhere between heavy metal and indie rock, which probably won't please fans of either. But if you're a fan of both, the combination is kind of nice.

The Lollipop Shoppe - Just Colour: A few weeks ago I was listening The Seeds (a late '60s garage rock band from California) and in the CD were pictures of their old concert posters with The Lollipop Shoppe as an opening band. A day later, I came across this, the band's only album from 1968. Like The Seeds, this album is pretty groundbreaking. It's easy to see the influence this band had on the development of heavier psych and early punk. The songs are fiery and fantastic. This is rare gem that deserves more recognition.

Angelica - The End of a Beautiful Career: Despite the title, this 2000 album is the debut from the UK girl rock band and was the start of a promising career that ended soon afterward. I had been searching for this album for a few years after reading great things. I finally got a copy for Christmas and was slightly disappointed. It's not bad, but it's basically a riot grrl album, several years past the genre's prime. It's a solid okay.

Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics: Regular readers of the Roundup are familiar with my seemingly endless praise of this dynamic UK stoner metal band. This 1997 album (the band's second) was released three years prior to their masterpiece Dopethrone. Like that album, this one is heavy with a capital H. "Son of Nothing" and "Return to the Son of Nothingness" are epic.

America - America: The 1971 debut album from the UK folk rock band features the band's best known song "Horse with No Name" which despite having heard it sixteen million times in my life, still pleases. But there is more to the album than that. Certainly the band is doing their best Neil Young impression on the songs, but they do it well. There are a handful of sub par tracks, but there are also a handful of stand outs. All in all, a nice '70s folk rock album.

Last Exile (Episodes 10-12)

(Catch up on previous episodes here)

This week I was able to make my way back on board the rebellious airship Silvana to visit in with Claus and Lavie on their continued adventures in what is turning out to be one of my favorite anime series of all time. When I last left off, the young vanship pilot Claus, along with navigator Lavie, was engaged in a marathon vanship race and leading, while the mysterious Alex Row was planning to get his hands on the last exile, a cube shaped object believed to have powers as of yet unknown to the viewer. It's the unknown to the viewer part that is making this series so fantastic for me.

So often television force feeds the viewer its plot in large, easily digestible portions. Like any great quest novel, Last Exile is content with revealing one little clue at a time and trusting the viewer to piece together the information over the course of the show. In these three episodes, the viewer is gradually getting a better understanding of the larger political intrigue that has only been hinted at up to this point.

It turns out there has been some recent turmoil with the Guild, which we now know is made up of several different houses or families that seem to behave much the way that royal families operated centuries ago. The little girl Alvis is apparently the last of the Hamilton House and the true heir. She also has some great power related to some, as of yet unknown, prophecy as evidenced when one of the members of another Guild house is able to put her into a trance that causes intense energy surges simply by reciting her a few lines of a poem. It's been clear from her entrance into the show that Alvis is important and I like that we are only now finding out the real nature of her role.

Nearly half-way through the series, the characters are beginning to change and take on what will most likely be their missions for the rest of the show. Each of the main characters seems to have their own quest to pursue, sometimes bringing them together and sometimes leading them apart. I've been very impressed with how well constructed this aspect of the show has been. But of course, like any good story, when things are getting to deep on the revelations, the storyteller needs to step back and mix in the action.

The last of these three episodes ends with an epic air battle that sees the Silvana taking on five of the Emperor's war ships and apparently being sunk at the end. What will happen next? I can't wait to find out.

Inferno

The world outside my window is melting. The world inside my walls is set to broil once that blazing ball of fire finds its way to the front windows. It's hard writing in this kind of weather. My brain tends to overheat. I have to fight through the slush to get a handful of pages. Like Hunter S., I've never been able to properly explain myself in this climate.

-this communication sent from the heart of the sun-

We Are Always Being Watched by the Watchers

(street art Zurich)

We are all spies and we are spied upon in the world today. Everything is being watched by someone. And though some may complain and cry for privacy, they are taking part in the storm as well. Whether it's for some false sense of security or a simple narcissistic need to broadcast yourself to the world, we all watchers watching each other.

There's a sense of anxiety that comes with living in a world like ours and its something I've tried to tap into with my novel Life is But a Dream (coming out this winter). In that book, I dealt with the invasive nature of being watched and turned it into a element of horror for the main character as she struggles with reality.

In the book I started writing last week, this idea of ever present watchers has crept in again. This time it's even more of an outright horror element. After all, it's the stuff of horror--from the dystopian world of 1984 (mistakenly dated 20 years too soon) to Nazi school text books that encouraged spying on your neighbor. But we've chosen this for ourselves. It's funny how mankind tends to indulge in its own nightmares.

The Joke Goes On...And On...And On

I'm one of those people who is continuously cracking myself up simply by thinking about things that have made me laugh before. Homer Simpson quotes are pretty notorious for that. Once I get started playing his antics in my head, I can sit and laugh for a good ten minutes. Because the thing is, in my opinion a good joke gets funnier with repetition.

When used properly, repetition is a good tool for creating many different effects. In a good horror story, it can be used to create suspense and ultimately surprise. Repetition of actions or dialogue between characters can strengthen the bond in their relationship. And repetition in the sense of a running joke can create some great comedy. Think of Michael Scott's hatred of Toby on The Office or the broken step in Modern Family, or every character except George Michael's reaction to Ann on Arrested Development. It's the same joke over and over, but somehow it's funnier each time.

So let me repeat, when used properly, repetition is a good. (Don't look for me to repeat this post tomorrow.)

Weekend Music Roundup

It was back to work this week and back to my regularly scheduled listening. It's also that time of year when a slew of albums comes out ahead of the summer touring season, which means it was a week of listening to mostly 2011 releases. This year has a been a little slow to start musically, but that seemed to change over night as I listened to the albums on this week's list. These are all new albums by bands that I own and enjoy previous albums by, so it was an exciting time for the audio inputs. Viva 2011...Enjoy!

Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See: The lads from Sheffield are back with their first album since 2009 and their best album since their debut in my opinion. Though I enjoyed the heavier sound of 2009's Humbug, I felt Josh Homme's hand was too involved and steered the band away from the originality they've always shown. This album shows a progression to more intimate songs and is more mature musically. Easily one of my favorite albums of the year so far. "Piledriver Waltz" is amazing and "Don't Sit Down..." is one of the more distinct songs they've made in years.

Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital: The Montreal duo's first album since 2009 could also be their best. Dan Boeckner (half of Wolf Parade) is at the top of his game here, as he was on last year's Wolf Parade album. Gone is the overly Bruce Springsteen-y influence of the last album, replaced with a more frantic tempo that makes for a great indie rock album, a refreshing change from all the folk trends of late, which I love, but sometimes you need a little rock and this is supplies it.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver: The second full-length album from the Wisconsin art-folk band doesn't deviate much from 2007's For Emma, Forever Ago. That wouldn't be such a bad thing...if it were 2008. My love affair with this band has faded drastically during the years between. I loved the debut album, and listed it as my favorite of the year back in 2007. But then came a terrible EP and some not-so-great side-projects, and then recently I listened to For Emma and honestly wasn't that into it. My problem is that the songs all tend to sound alike and there's this level of pretentiousness that completely multiplies on this album. That said, it's a solid listen with a handful of decent tracks. But over all, it's kind of forgettable in my opinion. I'm sure thousands of rabid fans will disagree and launch into the many reasons why I'm wrong...it won't change my mind.

The Antlers - Burst Apart: Though this is the Brooklyn indie folk band's fourth album, but it's the first one I've acquired, though I'm familiar with them through their Daytrotter Sessions. I've been intrigued by them for quite awhile, finding some amazing songs while finding other tunes to be a little too far on the chamber folk scale for my taste. This album continues that trend. There are a few songs I could do without, but the songs that grabbed me are nearly perfect. "Putting the Dog to Sleep" and "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out" are real stand-outs for me. A solid album.

Alamo Race Track - Unicorn Loves Deer: This Amsterdam's last album, 2006's Black Cat Tom Brown, is one of my favorites from the last decade. So obviously, I was excited to hear their first album in five years. The band's sound has changed a lot since then. Instead of the darker fairy tale tone of the previous album, these songs take a more upbeat approach. It reminds a little of a great French band called Cocoon, but doesn't pull off the sound quite as well as they do. I prefer the darker sound, but that said, I'm sure others will much prefer this album.

My Morning Jacket - Circuitical: Having been on the forefront of the indie folk/ y'alternative movement for a decade, it would seem that My Morning Jacket would begin to lose it's thunder, but it appears to be just the opposite. With each album, this band grows on me and this is easily my favorite of theirs, just topping Evil Urges (their previous album). They've perfected their Wilco meets The Jayhawks sound into a wonderful folk album that beckons to the '70s but without feeling stale. I've been listening to this one a lot.

White Denim - D: This Austin trio has been releasing an album a year since 2008 with their earlier albums being a frantic blend of garage rock and classic rock influence, spun around on its head and played faster. Though I've enjoyed their previous work, it felt a little messy at times. I'm happy to say that this album shows a great maturity and a more defined groove. It's amazing with a touch of folk will do. Their trajectory reminds me a pit of Dr. Dog, which can't be a bad thing.

Man Man - Life Fantastic: One of the more interesting bands of the last decade, this Philly's band's previous three albums are chaotic blend of Captain Beefheart meets the current world of experimental indie rock. Sounding a bit like a roving band of gypsies is what has always given Man Man their original appeal and this album is no different. Starting with 2006's Six Demon Bag (a masterpiece) to 2008's Rabbit Habits (an album I loved and have recently been listening to a ton) to this album, the band has mellowed a bit. Though anyone who knows these albums knows that 'mellow' is a relative term. There's something of a Burrough's surreal nature to these albums, like a Tom Waits album on a dust. Life Fantastic is fantastic indeed.

A Nightmare of Heaven

Over the past few weeks I've been letting a new story develop in my head. During my vacation, rather than outline the way I normally would, I just wrote little snippets of scenes. It gave the characters a chance to develop in way that is different than I've been working recently. I felt like I needed to let go a bit with one. The plan is to work fast and free and so far its paying off.

I started writing yesterday. So far, the going is pretty fantastic. The mood is similar to a nightmare I had of Heaven recently. It's also set in black and white. I wonder how many novels have been set in black and white before?