Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here and it's bringing Snowmageddon in a few hours. That's a perfect time to hunker down and keep the turntable spinning. This week I'm taking a look at some recent pick-ups, some old and some from last year that I didn't get around to listening to before the end of December. There's a range of rock, metal, and folk on here. Hopefully you have some time to sit back and enjoy.

J Mascis - Elastic Days: The new album from the Dinosaur Jr. frontman is his first solo album in four years and was released late last year. One thing that can be said about Mascis is that he's consistent. Whether it's the Dinosaur Jr. albums of the last decade or his solo work, he's tapped into his psyche and developed a sound that allows for the expression. If there's a downfall to this, it's that there isn't much difference between albums and few surprises, but when every able is consistently good, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

Mick Ronson - Slaughter on 10th Avenue: The debut solo record from the Spiders from Mars and legendary glam rock guitarist was released in '74. I'd been looking for a copy of this record for a while and found a beautiful "test pressing" in the local shop and couldn't resist. It's the first test pressing that I've ever added to my collection. This is a fantastic Bowie-esque record with some classic glam tracks that places it in the category with Ziggy and All the Young Dudes.  

Ryley Walker - The West Wind: This EP was released in 2013 as a limited edition vinyl and I recently came across a copy in the store. Being as Ryley is one of my favorite new songwriters of the decade, I was super excited to give this a listen. The three songs on here are classic Ryley style dark folk that reminds me of Dave Van Ronk and Nick Drake. 

Blue Öyster Cult - On Your Feet or On Your Knees: The NY heavy rock band released this live double album in 1975, just when they were reaching their creative peak. This was a time when heavy metal was beginning to break free from hard blues and this album represents that early metal sound that AC/DC were just beginning to do. The energy on this record is fantastic. Some standout tracks for me are "Hot Rails to Hell," "Buck's Boogie," "Last Days of Man," "Cities of Flame," and the incredible "Born to Be Wild" cover to close.

Emma Ruth Rundle - Some Heavy Ocean: Over the past few years, Emma has emerged as one of my favorite performers and I recently went back and found a copy of this 2014 release, her second solo record. Though still beautifully gloomy, she's definitely grown darker in the past few years. This is another wonderful record with lots of dark wave dreampop. "We Are All Ghosts" and "Arms I Know So Well" are pure brilliance. I really hope this is an artist who gets wider attention really soon.

Ghost - Prequelle: The fourth album from the Swedish metal band was released this summer and has become the band's biggest success, rocketing them to stardom here in the states. After being disappointed by their last album, I was bit skeptical about this one, but it's quite good. The incorporate some glam metal elements into their sound and it all comes together to create one of the most listenable metal albums in some time, and therefore no surprise to me that it's been so popular. 

Series of Unfortunate Events (The Miserable Mill)

Last night, I continued my binge watching with the concluding episodes of the first season of the Netflix adaption of A Series of Unfortunate Events. The two-part conclusion covers material from the fourth book, The Miserable Mill. Along with the The Wide Window, this was my favorite adaptation of the first season. It got everything right. Balancing the mood between utterly hopeless despair and joy found in the children's resourcefulness is the biggest challenge of this story, something that isn't always accomplished even in the books. Those two episodes manage that challenge wonderfully.

Having once again escaped Mr. Poe's incompetence and the clutches of Count Olaf by running away to the Lucky Smells lumber mill at the end of the last episode, the Bauldelaire orphans are content to work at the ghastly mill if it means they can live there, safe from Olaf. Of course, the eye shaped building that overlooks the mill should assure them that they are never safe from the dastardly plans of the Count.

The wealth of secrets revealed in this episode make it an extremely satisfying way to end the season. We also see the siblings beginning to move past their tragic circumstances and develop into very capable foes to the menace facing them, which we now know is far greater than simply Count Olaf and his evil theater troupe. 

Don Johnson's guest appearance is spectacular, as is Rhys Darby. The casting for this program has been so amazing, always picking the perfect person to capture the absurdness that comes with the character. It's not a coincidence that Samuel Beckett is mentioned in this episode as the absurd abounds.

Series of Unfortunate Events (The Wide Window)

Avoiding the advice of Lemony Snicket and the words of the theme song, I did not look away. I continue to view the miserable circumstances of the Baudelaire orphans and the endless pursuit of the ruthless Count Olaf as he seeks to dispose of them and get his hands on the fortune they are set to inherit. Last night, I watched the two part adaptation of the third book, The Wide Window.

Admittedly, this was my least favorite episode so far, but I still really enjoyed. The sets in this one were spectacular and reminded me of The City of Lost Children. The sailor themed costumes also nodded back to that film, which is one of my favorites. 

Aunt Josephine was never my favorite caregiver as I find her more frustrating than some of the others. She was played a bit over dramatically, but somehow it still worked. It was also at this point in the book series where Mr. Poe started to get on my nerves. WHY CAN'T ANYONE DO RIGHT BY THESE CHILDREN! But therein lies the joy for child audiences. They are the superior characters.

The Baudelaire siblings however really grew up in this episode, become far more active, brave, and confident. Neil Patrick Harris was brilliant once again as Captain Sham. All in all, it was another great episode and lays the groundwork for some of the action that is to come.

Series of Unfortunate Events (The Reptiel Room)

As I wrote yesterday, I'm continuing to make my way through the Netflix adaptation of Series of Unfortunate Events. Yesterday, I finished the two-part episode of the second book, The Reptile Room. This episode was fantastic, and even more Wes Anderson inspired than the previous one.

The Baudelaires, having escaped the care of the evil Count Olaf are placed in the care of Uncle Monty, as their parents had requested in their will. Naturally on guard, the siblings are reluctant to accept this eccentric new caregiver but find that he's as warm and kind as he seems. 

It doesn't take long for a poorly disguised Count Olaf to find them and begin to work a new elaborate evil plot to secure their fortune. One of the things that I love about this series, both the books and the show, is how the adults are basically clueless to things that should be so obvious, which is one of the facts of childhood from the perspective of children. This really comes through in these episodes.

Another great part of this episode is the elaboration on the bigger story of the secret organization, V.F.D.  The weaving of this aspect of the books into the show is so wonderfully done.

The acting continues to be a strength. Aasif Mandvi is brilliant as Monty, and Neil Patrick Harris shows his range as he takes on the first of Olaf's many disguises.

Series of Unfortunate Event (A Bad Beginning)

With some free time this week, I decided to dive into the Netflix interpretation of the great Lemony Snickett books. When these books came out, I devoured the first six or seven before abandoning it because it got even a little too depressing for me, someone who loves depressing art. I did watch the movie when it came out fourteen years ago, and while I found it entertaining, it was disappointing, as would be expected when you try to cram so much material into one film. So I was intrigued to see how it would play out in longer serial television format.

The first two episodes cover the first novel. I will admit that I nearly gave up on it after the first episode, because it was so horribly dark. The Baudelaire siblings live through the most abusive situation in this book and it's a little difficult to adjust to the twisted humor of the story. But thankfully, by the second episode, they were able to figure out how to portray the lighter, loving aspects of the story in a way that made it much more enjoyable to watch. 

The cast of this show is phenomenal. Neil Patrick Harris is practically mesmerizing and the kids are perfect. The look of the show is like something out of a Wes Anderson film and very effectively captures the mood of the stories. 

I love how the show has the meta element of being aware of itself. Along these lines, the addition of Lemony Snickett as a character and a framer of the story is brilliantly done. This show once again proves that television is currently the better format to capture the complexities and breadth of series publishing.

Weekend Music Roundup!

Welcome to the first Roundup of the new year! As the first releases begin to trickle out, I'm always excited to see what another year of music will bring. In the meantime, there's still mountains of music from years before that needs to be heard and digested. I still have a bunch of music from last year that I hadn't had a chance to properly hear. I'll be sharing some of those in the coming weeks, as well as discoveries from before that. Enjoy.

Welles - Red Trees and White Trashes: The debut full length album from the California native is very enjoyable indie rock that has throwbacks to the 00's and even late '90s with garage rock and grunge influences that sound inspired by the music coming out during the last decade. This was one of those albums that I knew I liked upon first listen, and then come to really like on second listen. "Seventeen" and "9.8" are two of the best songs I've heard in a long time. 

The Decemberists - Traveling On: This new EP follows the Portland bands wonderful full length album released earlier in the year. These songs were tracks that didn't make the cut, but are no less wonderful than what was included. The title track is amazing, but fans will certainly love every song on here. Once again, they affirm themselves as one of the best bands of the century so far.

Neon - Neon: The one and only album from the psychedelic blues band was released in 1971. I picked this up at the local shop a few weeks back based on the cover and some listener ratings. This is nothing too earth-shattering, but it's a good hard rock record. Having never been released on CD and never re-issued on vinyl, it's become one of those obscure albums that dealers like to over-charge for. Luckily my local shop keeps prices reasonable. Definitely worth checking out if you're into heavy blues rock from the era. 

Sleep Party People - Lingering Pt. II: This is the Danish neo-psych band's fifth album and I took a chance on it based on the fact that they used a Mark Ryden image for the cover. This is a bit on the quiet side, as the band title might suggest. It reminds me a bit of MGMT at their lazy moments, but that's not to suggest there isn't something pleasing about the record, it's just kind of background music. Enjoyable, dreamy, and a bit experimental.

Craig Wedren - Adult Desire: The Shudder to Think singer's fourth solo record was released in 2017, and recently re-released in this deluxe edition. I've always been a fan of his work, but missed this one when it came out, so I was glad to catch it this time around. It follows the lo-key style of his other solo work, but infuses glitch pop into the sound and does so very effectively. His work is so subtle that I think it's often overlooked, especially considering how dynamic and different Shudder to Think were in the 90's, but I think that's one of things that makes it special.

Peel Dream Magazine - Modern Meta Physic: The debut album from the New York musician, Joe Stevens, is an experimental lo-fi piece that is interesting, if not altogether absorbing. There's a lot of tape looping here and lots of recorded old television playback and it's all mashed together to create a sonic scrapbook of sorts. Definitely an interesting listen, but nothing particularly new or earth shattering.

T.I.T.S. - Throughout the Ages: The debut album from the San Fran female noise rock band was released as a split with Leopard Leg. Picked up this 2006 noise rock record a few months back for $1 and it's a surprisingly great improvisation of noise rock. With roots in '90s Rrriot Grrrl bands like Bikini Kill, Cake-like, and Babes in Toyland, this is record takes that sound and interprets it through darkwave noise rock that reminds me of Queenadreena. Each side of the record contains one track that weaves it's way through a soundscape of pleasant nightmares. I love making discoveries like this.

We All Float On...

The new year has always truly felt like a new year in my life because my birthday falls on the last day of the first week of the calendar change. I've often wonder what significance a new year had on people whose birthday fell much later in the year because it would seem so artificial to me, the cycle of my life having always been tied to Earth's journey around the sun.

Something else that I find interesting is how the journey changes during adulthood. The passage of time becomes one of things that is tracked not by numbers but by experiences. As a parent, the passage of time is something I see in the changes in my daughter more than in myself. It's made me more appreciative of the journey.