Music Jerk Rob's Music Blog

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Gems in a Gem-Worthy Year: 1997

2012-02-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

Revisiting one's youth can be both scary and beautiful. And hot. What?

According to Google/Blogger stats, this blog had 1,873 page views last month. And while Blogger stats are about as scientifically sound as dog years, I'm gonna go ahead and conservatively estimate that there were 50 page views by actual people last month. Though to all of you incredibly attractive "bots" out there, you feel free to come do your dirty deeds on this page anytime you want. You're making me look good.

Having realized now that this blog is about a step or two away from being a cultural phenomenon, it seems incumbent upon me to create more "bits". As of now, my only consistent bit is the "Playlist of the Week" which is sometimes weekly or monthly or whenever I've had a little too much to drink or a combination of several factors. Either way, I think I've stumbled upon a worthy bit idea that may have some decent mid-to-long term legs.

The other day on Twitter (yes, I shutter as I type those words), I engaged some of my fellow Twitter music geek friends (ah, modern romance) with a very simple question. To paraphrase: What is your favorite year in terms of album releases in your lifetime? Provide examples.

My friends all provided some good strong good arguments for their favorite years and it prompted me to come up with a new playlist idea. Take a truly great year in music and pick twelve songs--one from each of your twelve favorite albums of that year--and make a playlist. Simple enough. The only rule I will try to adhere to is that I don't typically like to select songs that have been on previous POTW's. This is the first in a series (I'd love to say many, but I wouldn't argue that there have been "many" great music years in my life).

What was my favorite year of album releases in my lifetime? 1997. For so many reasons. A year both deep and crucial, 1997 was one of those "defining" years of music in my life. 1997 was tits. Don't believe me? Check out this list. It was hard to pick my favorite twelve. Some albums may be better, but these were my favorite. In no particular order:

1. OK Computer by Radiohead

2. The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

3. Something to Remember Me By by Ben Lee

4. Blur by Blur

5. Homework by Daft Punk

6. Stranger's Almanac by Whiskeytown (Ryan Adams' pre-solo act band for those unaware)

7. Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spiritualized

8. Portishead by Portishead

9. Devotion + Doubt by Richard Buckner

10. Too Far To Care by Old 97's

11. Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse

12. Brighten the Corners by Pavement

1997 was still undoubtedly filled with even more classic greatness than the albums listed above, but I like to stick to "dozens" for whatever reason. Twelve albums, twelve great songs. Some you've definitely heard, others you may not have. For some (like me), it's a scarybeautiful trip down memory lane. For others its a discovery of new music. And for a third group, it's a reason to argue with me and that's fine because I love it and you love it and when are we gonna stop kidding ourselves we were born to do this and this is what makes us who we are and possible giggity, right? Right. Enjoy real hard.

Quick Spotify gripe: I created the Spotify version of this playlist and it was complete when made yesterday. But TODAY--at time of blog publication--two songs (by Ben Lee and Portishead) are suddenly no longer available in US. What a load of crap. Spotify is great except for when it's not. This is why I recommend the 8tracks version which can be played on your iPhones and iPads (AND has an app if you're so inclined) by clicking the first link below or the embedded 8tracks player found directly below the tracklisting. I've still included the Spotify version, but keep in mind that it is two tracks short of being complete.

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

To listen to this playlist in Spotify, click here.

Everyone else, press the play button in the box below the tracklisting.

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Gems in a Gem-Worthy Year: 1997 from RobRobRiot on 8tracks.

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Songs for This Uncommitted Winter

2012-02-06T06:47:00.001-08:00

Is it still funny?

This Uncommitted Winter

Nothing.

Nothing to scrape

Nothing to melt

Nothing to warm

Nothing to plow

Annual frosted obstacles

Deliver so well

Our frustration

Agitation in droves

With spring here early

The work we loathe so much

Has disappeared like a ghost we'd learned to live with

O uncommitted winter we miss our frozen burden that falls from the sky

Only thing we hate more than our arctic adversary is the nothing in his place

And with nothing to scrape

Nothing to melt

Nothing to warm

Nothing to plow

We are only left with the complaint

That we sure miss our complaints

Hey, this poem is accidentally shaped kinda like a fighter jet!

Which has nothing to do with winter

But is cool nonetheless

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

To listen to this playlist in Spotify, click here.

Everyone else, press the play button in the box below the tracklisting.

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Songs for This Uncommitted Winter from RobRobRiot on 8tracks.

Playlist of the Week: Genexistence

2012-01-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

After all the promises and resolutions are made, we get back to reading our books, listening to our music, and talking about the same old crap. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

10:58 PM, Nashville, TN

While laying (or lying or while being lain or something) in the bed of my overpriced, but unquestionably hip boutique hotel room on the final night of a business trip, I'm feeling both artfully confident and annoyingly reflective on the subject of life and the beginning of the new year. And as such, I had this thought: There's nothing we do with more consistency and fervor on an annual basis than convince ourselves that we're starting over.

In my own life, I've attempted to buck this trend by renaming my practice of making "resolutions" to setting "goals" with a clear "plan" which is all part of a "life mission" that is not at all "lame".

What is this goal/life mission? I'm not gonna tell you. Because my life is not some bit for me to present to you for judgment--and if I'm being honest, I like the strategic advantage of telling you nothing (as if you care). Because that way, if I fail, you'll never know. Plausible deniability--whether we call it that or not--is a big player with my generation.

Anyway, other than my one little "project" I've got going, I'm abandoning the silly ruse that I'm going to make huge, sweeping changes to my life--other than possibly reducing my rate of "air quote" utilization. Besides, as I've said in this space several times, life won't wait. The natural evolution of things is probably going to change things plenty for you whether you download a fitness app or eat less sugar or some such. Instead, I say screw trying to make over your entire life. Instead, embrace the life and the situation you have and try to improve it. It's much easier to improve than to destroy and start over--as if your lame ass could do that even if you wanted to.

So enjoy this good strong (think "STRAWNG") first playlist of 2012 composed with my favorite chemistry in mind. A little new combined with a little "new to you". The only possible exception is the inclusion of The Cure's "In Between Days". But you'd be shocked at how many new friends of mine are so music deficient that The Cure represents a completely new musical experience for them. I'm almost envious. Besides, it's just a good song. And I really have no other reason than that to include it and I heard it again recently and I love it and that's the way love goes (as the great Janet Jackson once said).

So go on. Take them on, on your own. Take what you've got, make it a little better each day, read your books, watch your shows (or your "stories" as my grandmother used to say), try to "out-clever" your friends via status update and do what you do for ME best--love me and my blog and my music so hard it hurts. And if while doing that, you have the opportunity to do something positive for someone else--even a tiny little something like paying an unsolicited compliment, calling to ask them how their life is going, or introducing them to my great music taste--know that such an effort is rewarding. At least I read that on some Facebook status update that I was supposed to copy and pass along but never did. But it sounded about right. So I'm gonna say that I got a good vibe from it and just run with it.

Having trouble figuring out the best way to say goodnight so I think I'll

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

To listen to this playlist in Spotify, click here.

Everyone else, press the play button in the box below.

Playlist of the Week: Genexistence from RobRobRiot on 8tracks.

For Rob So Loved the World: Music Jerk Rob's Favorite Albums of 2011

2011-12-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

A beautiful, elegant machine for making end-of-year best-of lists.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine confirms what my mother has been telling anyone who will listen--I, Rob Vera, am an excellent writer. Gifted, talented, and strikingly handsome when it comes to writing, what I'm about to say will likely shock and possibly even sadden you: This year's 2011 favorite album list blog entry will be both economical and downright thin on the verbiage compared to last year.

Let's be honest. You people don't read anymore. I'd be shocked if you even made it as far as that last sentence. And if you do read, it's Twilight or The Help or US Weekly or your Twitter feed. You've barely got any "smart" headspace left and what you do have left, I'd rather make good use of while ensuring there's room for some essential music to feed your heart, your soul, and that big vacant space in your work day where "work" is supposed to be but where something called "Facebook" actually resides. Also--thanks to Apple products--I'm nearly incapable of typing anything anymore without expecting my misspelled words to just "figure out" a way to correct themselves. I mean, who has the time to type words into sentences and paragraphs correctly or is willing to go back and make edits? "Correct spelling" and "editing" all sound like part of some high-minded liberal agenda that I frankly want no part of.

So let's do this. A few changes from last year:

1. Due to a music year far deeper in terms of quality albums than any in recent memory, I'm going with a nice round number of twenty-one selections. Twenty-one isn't a round number? Well, excuse me for living.

2. After a couple years of picking my favorite albums without ranking any of them (with the notable exception of naming a favorite), I've decided to bring back rankings. I've done this in order to ensure the highest possible likelihood of pissing off my good friend and fellow music blogger Jake. I mean, can our relationship survive Bon Iver not making this list??? Guess we're just gonna have to find out.

3. In lieu of reviews I've included my favorite lyrical reference from each album which I will provide no context for. What a fun bit, eh?

4. One holdover from last year--I've included a Music Jerk Rob's Favorite Albums of 2011 Sampler playlist that includes one selection from each album that I haven't previously included on any previous blog playlist. Merry Christmas. And you're welcome.

In closing, all these albums are excellent and there are so many more I could include if I wanted this list to be ridiculously long. But I don't have the time or brainpower or marginal work ethic for all that. However, I do look forward to discussing/fighting about this list and music, in general, for the foreseeable future with you. That's how much I love you.

21. Angles by The Strokes (RCA)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Life Is Simple in the Moonlight":

"It's addiction of routine as well
Making fools out of the best of us
Making robots of the rest of us
Innocence itself in America today
Is a crime just like Cornel West might say."

20. 12 Desperate Straight Lines by Telekinesis (Merge)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Please Ask for Help"

"You're like a puzzle that can't be solved,
Missing pieces never fill the gaps

You got the salt and I got the wound,
But, all you gotta do is ask."

19. Father, Son, Holy Ghost by Girls (True Panther Sounds)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Honey Bunny"

"I know you're somewhere
And nothing's ever gonna phase me
You'll look at me and know I'm the one
And you will love me
For all the reasons everyone hates me."

18. The King of Limbs by Radiohead (Ticker Tape Ltd.)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Separator"

"Just exactly as I remember
Every word
Every gesture
I've my heart in my mouth
Like I'm falling out of bed
From a long and vivid dream
Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying."

17. Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams (Capitol)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Lucky Now"

"And the lights will draw you in
And the dark will take you down
And the night will break your heart
But only if you’re lucky now."

16. Save Your Season by Mint Julep (Village Green)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "No Letting Go"

"Please take me away from here
Barricaded in our bedroom
Put your hand in mine, my dear
As we watch the world disappear."

15. Within and Without by Washed Out (Sub Pop)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Eyes Be Closed"

"Rising up you float outside yourself
Find the source of light
You fly home, you go closer now
Rising towards the light..."

14. Underneath the Pine by Toro Y Moi (Carpark)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "New Beat"

"Got left surrounded
By my old things
Thought I had moved on.
Tried to make ends meet
But picked up a new beat
And so I laid out
But even now when they fall into place
I think about 'em then."

13. One Thousand Pictures by Pete and The Pirates (Stolen Recordings)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Half Moon Street"

"My thoughts are tearing each other apart
In the back of the car
Conversations probably gone too far
You keep me guessing
Tongue tied and messy
Don't make me feel stupid
I'll do that on my own
Put the key in and just start believing
That you're going to hell if you have fun this evening
Come to me telling me all kinds of secrets
Promises promised I think I can keep it."

12. Tamer Animals by Other Lives (TBD Records)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Tamer Animals"

"Oh, living for the city and it's always troubling
To keep it in the hot lane, I don't care about no scenery
And you run from it then, now you can't escape, cause it's all you see
But we're all just an end to a simple thing, and it's all you see, and it's all you see."

11. Nine Types of Light by TV On the Radio (DGC/Interscope)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Will Do"

"Your love makes a fool of you, you can't seem to understand
Our heart doesn't play by rules and love has it's own demands
But I'll be there to take care of you if ever you should decide
But you don't want to waste your life in the middle of a lovesick lullaby."

10. Departing by The Rural Alberta Advantage (Saddle Creek)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Good Night"

"Plug the radiator in the car,
I can see the words you're screaming in the frost.
Rush into the woods where we first felt God,
It rippled through our veins from the moment when we touched
The city's love is cold and the city's love is hard,
It locks into our veins from the first September's frost,
And someday if you get it together in your heart,
Maybe we might get back together, but goodnight."

9. Sound Kapital by Handsome Furs (Sub Pop)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Memories of the Future"

"I threw my hands to the sky, I let my memories go
I threw my hands to the sky, I let my memories go
And I feel alone, I feel alone
I feel alone, I feel alone
I feel alone but it feels alright."

8. Actor-Caster by Generationals (Park the Van)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Dirty Mister Dirty"

"The rest won't take this riot lying down
How they do make that sound
You always said your friends can teach us how
Oh can they now?
Maybe then I'll fall in love with you."

7. Dye It Blonde by Smith Westerns (Fat Possum)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Imagine Pt. 3"

"In corners of your heart I tried to make love grow
Imagine all the windows if the walls are out of stone
Oh can't you see, what you're doing to me?
But you've always got me coming back for more."

6. Kaputt by Destroyer (Merge)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Chinatown"

"You can't believe,
Though I'm sure somebody's said it before:
I know you and I know the score...
I can't walk away, you can't walk away..."

5. The English Riviera by Metronomy (Because Music)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "She Wants"

"Then twitching lips
And twitching arms
And there you're lying
Your make up on them
Oh, Girl if you're dreaming deep tonight
I'll lie with you by reading light
A glass of water by your side
I'm gone in hopes of getting tired."

4. Megafaun by Megafaun (Hometapes)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "You Are the Light"

"Sin is insignificant
It anchors your fear
Pain is just a window
Through which you'll see clear
Hear my affirmation
I am the light
The light of the Lord
Join in our elation for we are the light
The same light inside
Inside of the Lord."

3. In the Grace of Your Love by The Rapture (DFA)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "How Deep Is Your Love?"

"When it's dark choices are few
It's just me and you
Give me what I need to live
Help me come to you
Let me hear that song
On this journey you've given me
I'm walking off the time
Now you're walking right next to me
The mountains we will climb."

2. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83 (MUTE)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Wait"

"Send your dreams
Where nobody hides
Give your tears
To the tide
No time
No time."

1. Days by Real Estate (Domino)

Magical Lyrical Moment Comes From: "Younger Than Yesterday"

"If it takes all summer long
Just to write one simple song
There's too much to focus on
Clearly that is something wrong."

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

To listen to this playlist in Spotify, click here.

Music Jerk Rob's Favorite Songs of 2011

2011-12-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

We all have our favorites. And we all have our reasons.

One of the great music influences of my life was my ex-best friend/fiancee, Leslie (And just to clarify, that is NOT a photo of her above. That's a famous actress in a famous role.)

Even though we haven't seen or spoken to one another in six years, her presence looms large in my record collection and in my musical heart. She introduced me to Morrissey, The Smiths, Juliana Hatfield, Evan Dando, Matthew Sweet and so much more. Music meant something to us. We prided ourselves on that fact. And we bragged to one another about how much better our collective taste was than others in an arrogant but truly awesome manner. And I loved this about us and I know she did, too. After a rough period in our lives where we didn't speak for several months, it was her listening to Ryan Adams's Gold and breaking down in tears due to how much it reminded her of me, that ultimately prompted her to seek me out again (I'm sure there were other reasons, but this one is my favorite). My first ever Wilco concert was with her. One of our most legendary fights (of which there were many) took place right before seeing Old 97's perform at The Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas. We saw Phantom Planet, Juliana Hatfield, The Decemberists, Okkervil River, Ben Kweller (and more that I'm sure I'm forgetting) in concert together.

No matter what difficulties we ultimately had (and there were many), I've always felt that she was my musical soul mate and I've often wondered if that was one of the reasons it was so hard to leave her behind after our break-up. I mean, as I've detailed extensively before, music is one of the primary tools we use to "get over" the last person we're with. And I'll be honest--like many men my age, Ryan Adams is a central component to any break-up therapy playlist and I must have listened to Heartbreaker about ten thousand times after we were finished. Around 2005 when the relationship ended, I'd say that at least a quarter (if not more) of my music collection was connected to Leslie in some way in my mind. Finding solace or an escape from the memory of Leslie in the form of music was a nearly impossible task. The moral of the story? Don't fall in love with women who have great taste in music. Just kidding. Sort of.

So why the sudden trip down bad memory lane? Because Leslie taught me something about experiencing music that I'm sure she's probably forgotten by now but that really stuck with me. Once, when presenting me with a gift of several Juliana Hatfield CDs, I asked her which one was the best. She pointed to one and said that it was probably the best, but then pointed to another and said that it was her favorite.

My brain started to power down at that moment in utter confusion. "What's the difference between the 'best' and your 'favorite'?", I protested. And I'll never forget this part. She looked me in that "this is so obvious and I don't get how YOU don't get this" way that only Leslie could and said (and I'm doing my best to get this right), "Well, this one is her best album, but this is the one I like the most. It's my favorite."

After several more minutes of discussion on the subject, I left the booth at IHOP that evening no closer to comprehending what she truly meant and I'm quite sure she thought I was completely dense (though I suspect she thought that long before that moment). Years later, however, I've started to understand. In 2011, we live in a significantly more "connected" and opinion producing at the speed of light culture and list-making/ranking has become a sport. You undoubtedly have seen a plethora of year-end best of lists that rank albums, songs, videos, books, movies, TV shows, etc. Rarely, if ever anymore, do we consider how ludicrous it is to attempt to objectively quantify art in such a way. I think Leslie always got this. This album is probably the best in terms of technical proficiency or critical acclaim, but that album is my favorite for my own damn reasons that are mine. In this way, Leslie was a rad chick and ahead of her time as far as I'm concerned. At least she was way ahead of me and my overly cerebral approach to music evaluation. Because ultimately, art, in general, and music, in particular, is all about what it does to your guts and your heart. We can make it in to more, but we do so at the peril of its fundamental magic.

Picking my favorite songs in a given year is now all about favorite and nothing else. Every one of these songs made me feel something that I could tell you about but won't. Some reminded me of people I know, have known but don't anymore, or anticipation of situations and personalities I have yet to encounter. And some make me just want to move, groove, bang my head, or air drum myself into oblivion. This isn't to say that some of these songs aren't on some other person's ranked list who is attempting to assign a place for a given track in the schema of our pop culture age that they're trying to cleverly name and inform all of us lesser beings of. I just don't have the stomach for over-thinking and analyzing each note and lyric anymore. I just love these songs for my own damn reasons that are mine. Enjoy. Or don't. It's really alright either way.

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

To listen to this playlist in Spotify, click here. *

*Track 3, "I Knew It Was Over (Live at the Vatican)" is not available on Spotify but is heartbreakingly beautiful and you must hear it. Use either of the other two playlist options including the embedded player to hear it. You'll thank me later, I swear.

Playlist of the Week: Rawkhawker

2011-11-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

The only method of getting music out in to the world more awesome than owning a record label? If I could shoot it through my super-powered talons.

Most of you reading this have been Facebook/Twitter-whipped with all the details by now, but here are the basics, just in case:

1. I co-founded a record label called Okie Dope Records with my hetero-soul mate, Clint McEwen.

2. A couple awesome Oklahoma City bands--The Boom Bang and Copperheads--recorded some new tunes and wanted to release them on vinyl. With two songs each, they opted to split a 7"--which sounds like sharing a sandwich but really just means each band gets one side of the record. Due to some good fortune and previous connections through a concert Clint and I had been a part of promoting, the parties came together. The best part? The talent of these guys is matched only by their enthusiasm for this project and how genuinely easy they are to work with. Clint and I both feel incredibly fortunate in this regard.

3. After a lot of hard work, the record is finally being released this Friday at a record release party/show at VZD's in Oklahoma City! Even if you aren't interested in the show for some ridiculous, un-American reason, I can assure you that the onion rings are the best in the city and reason enough to come out. And if you don't like onion rings, there's always the pure pleasure of my company which I'm sure you'd enjoy. And booze, too. Let's not forget about that.

So no time to go on and on right now because the business of rock 'n' roll is surprisingly time consuming--especially when you have an actual full-time job on top of it! But my playlists wait for no man--except me. And I have one for you! In the spirit of a week devoted to my nasty habit called rock 'n' roll, I present twelve songs in just a shade under 31 minutes--a dozen raw and strong rockers. Included at the top of the playlist are my favorite two songs (it's like a parent picking a favorite child) from my label's (it never gets old calling it that) inaugural release--one each from The Boom Bang and Copperheads.

Now sit back, relax, and give in to the power of rock. It'll be gentle. Unless it's not. And even then, it'll still be great.

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

Playlist of the Week: Due Northerner

2011-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Canada. It's like a whole other country.

Press play below and begin reading...

As I've always maintained, this blog is full of truths, half-truths, and downright fictionalizations of actual events. There's so much I want to tell you about Canada and my journey there, but never will. Partly because of certain implications. Partly because half of what I'd love to tell you is completely untrue. And partly because there are so few things that belong to ourselves anymore and therefore, I've decided to keep it locked up in a very Don Draper-esque manner.

What I can tell you is that my approach to story-telling and what you expect of it regarding Canada is much like the country itself. It's everything you think it'll be, but deep down it's actually quite different.

I can tell you that the beer is overrated. The food is underrated. The women are lovelier than I imagined they'd be. It's cold in November, but I've been colder in Oklahoma. Canadians are much more patriotic, bordering on nationalistic than you'd imagine. Tim Horton's is a Canadian institution that I managed to avoid, but now regret avoiding it. Yoga is really hard, but I was better at it than the teacher thought I'd be. Namaste THAT, guru! My friend's kids are both under the age of five and reminded me once again that boys at that age are hilarious messes and it's awesome. The five year old is already learning French and I felt stupid and unambitious as a result. To add insult, I need to work on my Crayola skills. Toronto is more like Chicago than New York, no matter what Canadians think. And I think that that's a compliment. I ate a Buffalo chicken sandwich with waffles as the bread on Saturday with a beer and you didn't. The CN Tower is taller than your brain can really wrap itself around unless you go up in it. Giggle. I couldn't get the Kids in the Hall theme music out of my head the entire time I was in Toronto and now if any of you go, you won't be able to either. Canadians are legally bound to hear at least 25% Canadian music and that's almost completely true. The people were warm, conversational, and distant all at once. Oddly, I honestly can't remember one person I met ending a sentence with "eh?". Canadian money is hilarious to me, but not nearly as hilarious as American money is to them. That's enough, metric system. Same goes for you, Celsius. My friend there who I hadn't seen in six years was completely different and completely the same all at once and I love her even more because of it.

My expectations were somehow unmet and completely exceeded all at once. And somehow I was a thousand or so miles from home and exactly where I needed to be. Thank you God, for your curious and perfect combination of both answered and unanswered prayers.

iPad and iPhone users, click here to play the playlist.

The Friday Video Reward: "Roads (Live)" by Portishead

2011-11-04T08:56:00.001-07:00

I read a comment from someone once that said that this song would be on God's mp3 player. I have no doubt.

My sincerely promised and yet undelivered inaugural "Your Weekly Top 5 List" is coming. But as many of you may be aware, I'm involved with this tonight. And if this interests you and you're around Oklahoma City tonight, please come. Needless to say, super music brain just doesn't quite have the bandwith to focus on much else in depth today.

But I felt the need for reasons I can't quite describe--maybe it's the change in weather or my desire to highlight something completely opposite of what my music world has been revolving around lately--to post this video from the greatness of Portishead. While at the age of 32 I'm clearly getting handsomer and awesomer by the day, there is an affection I carry--like many others I imagine--for the times, places, and music of my teenage years. In the way that I felt most adults at that time completely overrated the 70's musically (how silly I was in those days), I'm now certainly a happily functioning hypocrite who feels the same instinctual devotion to the music of the 90's. There's just a "feeling" I associate with memories from that time--in the same way that certain smells remind you of a long since left place or relative or ex. And I simply cannot separate those memories from their soundtrack.

Few bands or songs evoke such a "feeling" more than Portishead and their classic song "Roads"--specifically this particular live version. Seeing this performed live, the combination of lead singer Beth Gibbons' pained and tragically beautiful vocals combined with a lush string section is nothing short of goose bump-inducing. If you've never really listened to Portishead, I'd actually encourage you to START with the album that this version comes from--1998's Roseland NYC Live or as it is often referred to, PYNC. It's a strong sampling of the best work from the only two albums they'd released at that time (they've only released one additional album of new material since, aptly titled Third.)

Please, do enjoy. And of course, no need to thank me. Even though you probably should. My concern for your music well-being knows no bounds. It's really both awesome and difficult being this selfless.

Playlist of the Week: Pivotalization

2011-10-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

One of the lessons that stuck with me from learning to drive was that you always, always turn in to the skid--even though all your instincts tell you to turn away from it. There's a reason the car is skidding and its only such an acknowledgement and acceptance of the force of your movement that will allow you to regain control.

My life is certainly not skidding out of control. I hope not. I still have so much on my DVR to catch up on. But there's clearly a slight force of movement happening. And its pushing me to embark on some risk and some discomfort, but that's alright. Things are moving me in a slightly different direction. But even a slight change in direction can create an entirely new trajectory. Time to acknowledge and turn in to it. Scary. Good. Hopefully, scary good.

Quick Music Jerk: Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-10-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

Megafaun: Until a couple weeks ago, I was unaware of these guys, their powerful music, and their equally powerful beards.

The contenders for album of the year are beginning to make themselves known. On a possibly related note, this is the strongest week of the year.

Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

Megafaun by Megafaun: In a year of musical anticipation and expectation surrounding bands I'm familiar with and fond of, Megafaun qualifies as the most unexpected of my discoveries. Hard to pin down genre-wise, the former bandmates of Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon alternately remind you of The Grateful Dead, Spiritualized, or Eels with soundscapes that are at times Odelay-era Beck/Kid A Radiohead before shifting to the chamber power of Fleet Foxes or the horn-centric beauty of Beirut or The Walkmen. It's such an insane concoction of genre influences that it has no business working--but it does. Highly spiritual lyrics combined with an adventurous spirit, Megafaun is a true one of a kind.

Days by Real Estate: There's nothing worse than the disappointment of unvalidated anticipation--and nothing quite as reassuring in that "sometimes things CAN go right in this world" sorta way as when your passionately childish hope is fulfilled after a long wait. There was no middle ground for me with the new Real Estate album. I had loved their debut and their follow-up EP so much--I was and am incapable of possessing middle ground feelings about this band. Luckily, the band's sophomore release, Days, is a tremendous success on every level. Its beauty is in its ability to be both simple and skillfully crafted. They return with just enough new wrinkles to show the path they're charting forward while still retaining that lush beach-guitar trademark touch and create a gem of an album--one of 2011's best. Sure, I'm probably biased towards this band. But it doesn't make it any less true. It's out. TODAY. Get it. You're welcome.

Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams: People need to get over Ryan Adams' debut album Heartbreaker much in the same way that many bitter former Radiohead fans need to get over OK Computer. Adams is not (just as Radiohead is certainly not) going to make that album ever, ever, ever again. While no one doubts that album's greatness, it has all too often served as an albatross hanging around Adams' neck in the form of the critical evaluation of his subsequent works. There are far too many lazy, petulant music critics (Pitchfork) who spend more of their reviews referencing how the new work compares to Heartbreaker (as well as petty commentary on the nature of Adams' formerly turbulent off-stage life) without ever fairly evaluating the work right in front of them. Largely due to this phenomenon, appropriate praise has eluded some tremendously strong (and largely overlooked) albums such as the epic Cold Roses and the pitch-perfect country throwback Jacksonville City Nights. And while I note the irony that I have yet to say a word about Adams' new album, let me remedy that by saying that Ashes & Fire is his most consistent, top-to-bottom work in years. Ryan Adams always had the gift of espousing the most universally understood sentiments in the most brilliant, clever ways that you could never think of and that doesn't stop here. Quieter, but certainly assured, Ashes finds Ryan Adams in a good, strong place with a set of hooks that's been less noticeable on his last couple of albums. He's in love, but even if you're not, you get the sense listening to this album that he knows how easily even beautifully-joined things can fall apart for a guy like him. And somehow, that's reassuring to a guy like me.

Playlist of the Week: Gold Medallion Blues

2011-10-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Does Clooney have his image minted on a super-sweet medallion? Well neither do I, but I really do have a lot of frequent flyer miles so it's just a matter of time.

I've got approximately 55 hours here at home before I'm back on a plane and headed out of town again. At present, my life is a non-stop up in the air chase for a better seat, more free booze, and something called "status" that only a major air carrier can bestow. I'm not complaining. I'm just an object never at rest and it's hard to focus on that sweet, cool nuget-filled center of reality we call "being deep" right now. The operative word right now is "go". So I focus on the important issues right in front of me. Like how I had to drink Woodford Reserve since they were out of Glenlivet on my flight yesterday. What am I, Delta? A hobo? Come on!

So forgive me--your most revered spiritual maharishi--for not having some life-altering TNT to detonate on your lame ass today. However, I apologize as always for the stupid gap between posts. Real life sure does find a way to keep me from investing the time and dedication I ordinarily would in my fake online life.

Enjoy the music. Enjoy the weekend. Oh yeah--Boomer. Sooner. And I'm legally required to mention something about Steve Jobs. So there you go.

Playlist of the Week: Archery

2011-09-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it seems alien to you--even when you know it isn't.

A dozen songs for your Friday, your weekend, your heart, your brain, your distraction, your pain, your joy, your travel. I'm done traveling for a few days. You'll never guess where I've been.

A dozen sentences on the playlist you're about to indulge in for the dozen or so of you who may read this. Track by track. Oh yeah, go ahead and scroll down to the bottom of the post and press the play button to maximize your enjoyment quotient:

1. Every time I hear this song, I think of this scene from Superbad that never fails to put a big, dumb smile on my big, dumb face.

2. I may or may not be practicing my super sweet dance moves to this song.

3. I may have said this before, but I think Blind Pilot sounds like what people wish Death Cab for Cutie actually sounded like.

4. Based on a conversation I had earlier this week, I do indeed think that it's great when English bands actually sound English.

5. I'm late to the party, but there still appears to be plenty left for me to drink.

6. As a man of faith, I'm naturally inclined to enjoy examples of resurrection (and may oddly explain why I love zombie movies so much)--which in music may just be a glorious return from mediocrity.

7. Jake, there's nothing wrong with enjoying some occasional strong chick-folk and recommending it to your friends--no matter what they say.

8. Her real name is Annie Clark and she's far too hot to have such a confusing stage name.

9. This song comes from an album called Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By and so this song must be actually promoting healthy, marital love, right?

10. The title of this song prompted a Wikipedia search and now I've got one more weapon in my future Jeopardy! arsenal.

11. Fifty-five seconds in is for my girl.

12. Amen and amen.

The Wednesday Video Reward: "Honey Bunny" by Girls

2011-09-14T04:38:00.000-07:00

Live on Jimmy Fallon last night. Infectious, fun, tap-your-feet pop the way it was meant to be made. Loved this the first time I heard it. Side note: How much does Girls' front man Christopher Owens look like Kurt Cobain with that sweater/hair combination?

Quick Music Jerk 3: Okie Dope, Manufactured Popularity, and Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-09-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Not just a figment of our wild imagination anymore?

1. Okie Dope Records has existed in the heads of myself and my label partner and friend Clint for two years as nothing more than a single t-shirt, a few cool JPEGs, and a Facebook page. What better way to celebrate the two year anniversary of our hypothetical venture than by actually making into something....thetical? Or real or non-fictional or um...an actual record label that makes an actual record! Well the wheels of progress and the gears of justice seem to finally be moving in the right direction. More details will follow, but we've found two great Oklahoma City bands who will each share a side of a 7" release (a 45 RPM record like the one pictured above). As of today, we're projecting a late November/early December release of the Okie Dope label's first record! Things should become official in the coming weeks, but until then, let's all celebrate the fact that your beloved music blogger is taking his first steps toward realizing that sweet clean Jay-Z music mogul dream...

2. According to Blogger Stats, the most popular post in the history of this blog BY FAR is one of my playlist of the week posts--"My Mental Trans-Am". And while I'd love to believe that this is due to the exceptional writing and fine, hand-crafted playlist authoring that I did on this occasion, I'm thinking it has to do with the words "Trans-Am" and people who are inadvertently stumbling on to my blog while cruising for muscle cars online. On an unrelated note, future music playlist titles will incorporate "American Idol", "Kate Middleton", and "Arrested Development Movie Release Date".

3. Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

Yes, I have a ton of catching up to do on this front and a couple of these are from previous weeks, but I don't want you to miss out on them just because I'm a bad blog parent...

Skying by The Horrors: A somewhat sunnier and slightly more 80's New Wave-esque pop-friendly turn from 2009's dark masterwork, Primary Colours, The Horrors return on this album with no less stomach for the fight. Don't let the name of the band scare you off--this is synth-drenched music with rock 'n' roll power, principles, and guitars done right. Download my favorite track on the album, "Still Life", for free here. You'll dig.

For fans of: Echo & The Bunnymen, The Big Pink, Simple Minds

In the Grace Of Your Love by The Rapture: Triumphant, highly-contagious dance-punk from the painfully un-prolific (this is only third third album since 2003) NYC pioneers of the craft returns in full force. Less "punk/tribal" than 2003's essential Echoes and less "shiny/produced" than 2006's often overlooked Pieces of the People We Love, this album finds a happy medium between the two without feeling compromised. The beats and the melodies are infectious and the lyrics are bravely sincere (and apparently un-ironic by all accounts) and fit with the tone of the record. I cannot stop listening to this album and I suspect it will find its way on to many year end best of lists--namely mine.

For fans of: LCD Soundsystem, !!!, Hot Chip

The Grand Theatre Vol. 2 by Old 97's: The most surprising album of 2011 so far from the standpoint that this is easily the best album this Dallas alt-country/country rock institution has released in a decade. I've loved this band since my college years and I'll have to admit that I'd given up on the idea that they could once again make music that lived up to their early classics. Some bands just keep going well past their relevance and I feared that Old 97's had been relegated to some adolescent-tinged nostalgic place alongside bands like Weezer. But this album is a true return to form and its mood and feel is reminiscent of their work on 1999's excellent Fight Songs. At their best, Old 97's combine the best elements of rock and country with an effortless artistry that has rarely been matched and it is great to see that they've got some magic left.

For fans of: Drive-By Truckers, Bobby Bare, Jr., early Wilco

Playlist of the Week: Audio Caffeination

2011-08-31T06:33:00.000-07:00

It's molecular. And calling your name.

This morning's message is simple: Wake. Up. WAKE. UP. Everyone's tired of your tired. And the stressful whiny bitchiness that accompanies it. Or so a trusted friend told me recently about someone who may or may not be me. If you're averse to chemical solutions, how about freeing yourself from the shackles of your moribund indie music drudgery and inject some frenetic pace and guts and balls and catharsis in to your audio consumption. Here's my never fail, all killer-no filler bolt of lightning. Enjoy your day. I'm off to get coffee.

Playlist of the Week: Scalabitual

2011-08-11T06:23:00.000-07:00

Music first. The conquering of the world will follow soon after.

scalability--

— n
	the ability of something, esp a computer system, to adapt to increased demands

I think it's called jargon. Some kind of industry or trade specific language. Yeah, that's what you call these kind of words. I had never heard this particular word until I got this job. And now I use it all the time in presentations (like big shots do) as both an adjective of praise for my solution or as a weapon against a competitor. In my little professional world, the ability to handle an increasing amount of demand is the skeleton key more often than not. Which I suppose is true in the rest of my life as well.

I don't talk about work to my friends and family much--other than to let them know I'm traveling or if I've had some sort of success I'm proud of (99% of my friends and family could not tell me what I actually do for a living, which is fine). And I likely do the latter just to remind them that, in fact, I am not sitting at home with no pants on working the margarita machine. That often. No, no, I am a hard worker. I am highly scalable. I work, I travel, I write, I socialize, I attend church, I remember birthdays, I eat local, I sometimes cook, I evaluate music so you don't have to--I mean, there's a workload called life to be conquered and I generally rock it.

But lately, some other factors have been added to the mix. Ones with tremendous growth potential (excuse how corporate douche that sounded), but ones that will potentially stretch my scalability. With software systems, there's a point at which a given solution reaches its workload limit. You can add more tasks, but all the other ones will either suffer in terms of performance or will need to be shed or modified to fulfill the new demands properly. Technology is amazing, but I find that at its core it is bound by the same principles as the rest of humanity in most ways. At some point, we realize that there's only 100% to give and it all comes down to choices.

But this is a good thing. The forced application of prioritization in ones life is the ultimate litmus test for your values. And not mentioned in my previous list is how much of my life's pie chart is probably filled with a significant amount of wasted time. The idea of replacing that wasted time with--in the simplest terms--the "important stuff" is exciting beyond words. As age moves us to the summit of activity, the mandate to take it all on never becomes less demanding. And it would be easy and idealistic for me to say that I'd rather be great at a few things than mediocre at many things--as if life gives us such a choice all that often....I had another good thought but then Terence Trent D'arby just came on. Hell yes! Make fun all you want, but you cannot listen to this song and not nod your head. That's science. Me? I'm about to dance. Do I have pants on right now? Don't worry about that. Be right back.

Man, I feel good! This is why it's a good idea to play the playlist while I write/while you read. So anyway, we don't usually get the luxury of getting to focus on just a few things. I'm going to eventually be a husband and a father but I'll still have a job and interests and others to engage with and I really, really do want to try and still eat local. The key to scalability being an actual advantage is knowing how to balance and prioritize. And since we rarely get practice runs at this, we have to just take what we've learned, close our eyes, and hope we can do it. The time isn't here yet for the big stuff. But it'll be here soon enough. I have faith that I can handle it. And even more faith that even with all the change and adjustments, that I'll love it. It's just how I was designed. That's not just the Terence Trent D'arby dance high talking. I think I really mean it.

This week's playlist is one of the best of the year--if I do say so myself and I do since this is my blog and my taste is excellent. But seriously, unlike recent years, 2011 seems to be strengthening down the stretch in terms of quality. So there's plenty of new included in all this goody goodness.

Quick Playlist Highlights:

1. Track 1: Yes, Beirut was recently on this playlist, I know. But their new album, The Rip Tide, was just released and has quickly become a contender for me. The usual layers of horns and eastern European tone are complimented with a more pop-friendly and gentle feel. God, that sounded hipster. But trust me, it's a really good album.

2. Track 5: Don't let the title fool you--and I suspect that in some ways it IS meant to throw you off--this is the most sweeping, affecting pure rock song I've heard in years. Power. Just power. Just trust me.

3. Track 7: The Horrors are awesome. And they just keep getting awesomer. The new album, Skying, is a more pop-friendly continuation of 2009's darker, post-punk epic, Primary Colours. Both albums are great, but I think first-timers to this band will enjoy Skying the most.

4. Track 12: A folky, somewhat bluegrassy cover of one of my favorite Radiohead songs of all time. A tall order--but maybe the best Radiohead cover I've ever heard. It takes balls to try to cover Radiohead--and apparently Sarah Jarosz has them. But I'm sure she's still a lovely lady.

The Friday Video Reward: "Half Moon Street"

2011-08-06T04:52:00.001-07:00

For some, happiness is a pitch-perfect rock song and a date with a beautiful English girl. Or 7.

Artist: Pete and the Pirates

Song: "Half Moon Street"

Album: One Thousand Pictures

The Non-MJR Review

Year of Release: 2011

Random Thoughts: In the grand English tradition of emotional juxtaposition, this is a song with some relatively tortured and brooding sentiments set against the backdrop of an unquestionably light and humorous music video (my favorite moment is when he looks at the bill for dinner). I included this song on the "Heatwaver" playlist a few weeks back, and I can't help but feel that this band is one of my favorite "public secrets". They're English and appear to have little--if any--exposure outside of their home country. But I stand by my contention that they're the most underrated/underexposed English rock band going right now--a band whose sound harkens back to the better days of Britpop groups like Supergrass and Pulp quite effortlessly--all while establishing a delivery that is uniquely their own.

Enjoy your Friday and enjoy your weekend and enjoy the fact that you have this blog in your life. You're welcome.

Playlist of the Week: Airport Commutation 3

2011-08-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

Do it enough, and you'll either know them by heart or they'll all seem the same after a while.

The tools of my travel are beginning to make themselves heard more these days. That's not some lame attempt at metaphor. The stupid wheel on my roller-board suitcase rattles loudly enough that even rolling through the frenzied cacophony of ATL or DFW, it makes its presence known. My car currently makes a strange buzzing sound anytime that I accelerate. Neither of these little ailments appears to be affecting the actual performance of their respective tools, but the noise bothers me. Not enough yet to do anything about the problem, mind you. But enough to quietly lament that in an imperfect world, my previously perfectly-operating solutions sometimes give me shit, too.

Of course what both of these little imperfections have in common are two-fold:

1. If I ignore the noises long enough, they'll eventually just be something I get used to--sort of in the same way (and many of you will recall this) I got used to the huge crack in my windshield that I left there for two years. Once I got my new windshield, the LACK of the crack seemed more odd to me for a while thereafter.

2. If I put my headphones on or turn up the volume in the car, the noise ceases to be heard or is at least overshadowed.

It's point #2 that got me to thinking so hard (like ya do). Music is just well-organized (usually) and finely-crafted (sometimes) noise. Which means that it can be an integral piece of your day-to-day life, a warm blanket of comfort, a vessel of catharsis, etc. Or after a while it can just be noise as meaningless as that stupid roller-board or my ironically just paid-off car.

How does one avoid this? It's not easy. On the one hand, if I listen to the same music too often, my brain will turn it in to "noise" because I'm just accustomed to it at a certain point. There's a fine line between a "favorite" and an increasingly meaningless listening "habit". Of course if all you do is acquire new music constantly, you might listen to it long enough to write a not-so-clever blog/review/smarmy tweet and then it gets thrown in the digital pile. What am I to do? I mean, I'm really good at being a dick about music. It's a gift. How do I find the balance between these two pitfalls?

I suppose there's no perfect solution. I mean, some of my music has and will inevitably become noise. In the age of 11,000 songs and counting on my iPod and a "shuffle" button, the tools to fuel our increasingly unconscious musical indifference are all there. So to answer my sister's recent question about "why I buy records when they don't sound as good as CDs or MP3s (sigh)", I would argue that in addition to their unique sound, they somewhat force the listener to consume an entire album or half an album at a time. Then the music pendulum has a chance to swing away from "noise" and a bit closer to "art" or somesuch. Of course records aren't for everyone--if they were, I'd find some other way to listen to music to make me feel superior to you. Maybe cassette tapes could make a comeback? But, I digress.

Here's a challenge: Suspend your shuffle button for an entire week. Force yourself to listen to an entire album or discography of a band at a time. Just the tip? Just to see how it feels? Seriously, what happens to your music experience when you consume it in this way? I don't know the answer for everyone, but I'll bet it's a little different than what you're used to. And I don't know if different equals better but isn't different better? Yeah, I wrote that. Think about it.

Of course for now, ignore everything I just said and listen to my playlist--another example of the art of my engaged music consumption that results in a sweet concoction of audio bliss and a constant source of strong good music direction for all of us. I mean hell, Hall & Oates are on this week's playlist. Hall. And Oates. Thanks, Lucas.

Quick playlist highlights:

1. Track 2: Not only is this a new Morning Benders track (about time for a new album, guys), but it's an excellent cover of The Strokes' classic.

2. Tracks 5, 10, and 12: If you're in need (and we all are at times) of some beautiful heartbreak music, you can't go wrong with these songs. Trust me. I know good heartbreak music.

3. Track 8: New Wilco! New Wilco! From their forthcoming album (September), The Whole Love.

4. Track 3: Pump Up the Volume. You either get it or you don't.

Playlist of the Week: Beachwaver

2011-07-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not trying to scoreboard you guys by telling you that I'm headed here this weekend. But I'm headed here this weekend. What are you doing this weekend?

For those of you familiar with me and familiar with this blog, you probably know that I travel a whole real super lot. And while I know I'm sometimes guilty of "travel bitching", overall I know I'm pretty blessed to have the sweet gig that I do. Having said that, I've flown enough regional jets, driven to enough places in the middle of nowhere, and dealt with enough random airplane "smells" to feel I've earned this.

Last year, I traveled to Europe in what turned out to be an unreal experience on so many levels--even the French didn't make me feel that bad about being American! And while I'd never trade that experience for anything, the purpose of this trip is to do as little as possible. Keep things simple. Get drunk and fall asleep. You know, the tenants of the American dream fully realized. Just on a beach.

We all need the beach at some point. Or "the beach" as an idea or a mental refuge. I am a generally happy and contented twenty-first century man. And while I've learned that no vacation, short or long, can truly provide spiritual rest, it can at the very least give your brain some time to clear out a bit. I am tethered to this machine and this phone and this e-mail and the web and the social network that just keeps broadening and I need a reboot, a mental cleansing, or cognitive enema, if you will. Just with a few rum and tequila drinks thrown in for good measure. Honestly, the part of the trip I'm looking forward to most is planting myself on the beach and just staring out in to creation. Yes, I'll "check in" and status update and Twitpic at some point, but I will fiercely snatch some moments of human solitude where it's just me, the ocean, and God.

In this day and age, there is so little left that is just "ours" and is unshared with others. Whether its in a tropical paradise or on your porch in the morning before the world begins to stir, I have no doubt that the procuring of solitary moments is vital to maintaining sanity. So I wish you well and leave you with the playlist that will constitute my first musical moments on the beaches of San Juan. Where the high will be 86 degrees. Feel free to use the comments section to send your hate mail. Love you.

Quick playlist highlights:

1. Track 1: Brand new Real Estate song that was literally released as a free download (hint, hint) YESTERDAY from their forthcoming album Days.

2. Track 3: Davila 666 is my favorite rock band from Puerto Rico and therefore had to be on this playlist. Though let's be honest, there isn't a ton of competition for that distinction. Puerto Rico's music offerings typically make me ashamed to be half Puerto Rican and thus, this band represents a tiny beacon of fun rock hope.

3. Track 8: This pop magic from The Dandy Warhols is accompanied by one of the most awesomely ridiculous, absurd, and entertaining music videos of the 90's. I challenge you to find a cooler music video with dancing syringes in it.

4. Track 10: Remember when Beck used to be fun? I do. I wish he would come back.

Playlist of the Week: Heatwaver

2011-07-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

If there was a sun god, I imagine the last month would have proven he was a bit of a prick.

The problem isn't July's heat. Hundred degree days are par for the course when you live in the south--and yes, Oklahoma is southern even if it isn't "The South" as some of my Confederate-rooted friends like to remind me. I spent some time earlier this week in Chicago and I can assure you that the upper 70's highs make it clear what the difference between north and south is.

Anyway, the problem here at home isn't July's heat. It's been the abnormally high June heat here that has created an infernoesque cumulative effect on the mind and body. How could my birthday month be such a bastard? Nevertheless, when you're given sun-scarred lemons, you've gotta make some scalding hot lemonade, right? As of late, that's involved traveling. Which I already do a lot for work, yes. But in the last week, I was given the opportunity to schedule creatively and America did not disappoint. I did this in Austin. This in Memphis. And capped it off with this in Chicago. Mere days from July 4th and I'm reminded why I'm so hot for this country of ours.

So what will I do for an encore? Why, I'll be visiting America's greatest territory/not-state/un-state. Yes friends, you guessed it. And even if you didn't, the answer is Puerto Rico. Time to explore my paternal roots so very thoroughly via the beach/rum/rum/beachy rum experience of the official island paradise of this blog. I'm leaving in a couple weeks and have plans that include almost no plans whatsoever. My brain needs to defrag for a a bit. I plan to rest, ponder, swim in the ocean, meditate and pray. All in 85 degree weather with swim trunks as my primary clothing and the coastline as my refuge.

Either way, the heat is both a blessing and a curse due to the cumulative effect on all aspects of our being. And while it slows us down to a crawl, maybe that's a good thing. Are any of us really complaining that we're not moving fast enough in day to day life as it is? The only unfortunate thing to slow down a bit of late is production from this blog. But there has been so much good strong music released of late helping me to cope with the ice cream genocide outdoors that I haven't often known where to start in terms of birthing playlists. But alas, I always and usually often sometimes come through when I'm needed most and today is no exception.

Lots of new mixed with a few recent rediscoveries. If I may highlight a selection or two:

1. Pete and the Pirates: The best British rock band going these days that no one ever talks about.

2. Ty Segall: People disappointed that none of John Lennon's vocal talent really rubbed off on his kids will enjoy this rocker. The diversity of his rock arsenal and pop sensibilities grows with each release.

3. The Postelles: Stumbled across this band in the past week and the tunes are infectious with pop pleasure. A sunnier version of The Strokes/non post-punk American version of The Futureheads and certainly proving to be a summer staple for me.

Anyway, this week's playlist has been posted on 8tracks for 3 hours and already has 15 plays and 3 "Likes" which essentially translates in to Michael Jackson's Thriller in terms of popularity. So go ahead and embrace the awesome tunes, fire up the grills, and enjoy America no matter where you may be or even if you're not American. There's always a reason to party. Just don't melt.

Playlist of the Week: 12NU432

2011-06-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

A man should always be ready for a fight. Or to bake a cake when needed. Or maybe even some light vandalism.

I turned 32 this past Sunday. It was excellent. And while I typically don't feel different right after a birthday--like in that manner people refer to when asking if you "feel" older--this time is different. Thirty-two should be just another fair-to-spare birthday along the road between thirty and forty. But I feel different. I feel better. I feel--in some ways--like I've been rebooted. Or at least thoroughly defragmented. Thank you, God. Thank you, family. Thank you, friends.

That's all for this week. My gift to you is a playlist of all new music (at least to me) that I'm pretty excited about. Prepare to have your music pants blown up. And a fair warning, there's a decent amount of electronic music this week. I can only assure you that it's really, really good. But don't worry, there ought to be just enough rock and pop (Walk the Moon, Sondre Lerche, The Midwest Beat, Black Lips, etc.) to tide you over. Traveling to the beautiful cities of Austin and Memphis at the end of the week, so I thought I'd go ahead and deliver your audio candy a bit early before I fall in to a Tex-Mex/BBQ coma of some sort. Seriously, listen to this playlist in the car if you can. Take a drive or a take a run or get on the treadmill with it. Most importantly, take a chance this week. Oh, and take a chance on the music, too.

Playlist of the Week: My Mental Trans-Am

2011-06-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the journey from Point A to Point B simply requires something more.

So let's start on a high.

I had dinner with a gorgeous woman last Saturday. I won't qualify that statement any more than that. But to answer your question--yes, this happens occasionally.

Suffice it to say, it was one of those dinner conversations that went in a dozen conventional and unconventional directions. On the unconventional end of the spectrum, she brought up my music blog. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to hear she'd checked it out (as surely as she'll read this), though in my head I could hear David Cross' Arrested Development character, Tobias Fünke, yelling "There are dozens of us! Dozens!". She then proceeded to suggest that I create a playlist of the music I'd listen to in my "mental Trans-Am". At this point, I'm as confused as you are right now.

So I proceeded to ask what a "mental Trans-Am" was and we went back and forth trying to define it. It's some combination of comfort music and the spirit of Will Ferrell's character Frank "The Tank" in Old School whose first major post-wedding activity was to remove the restrictor plate off his old Trans-Am in his driveway while blaring Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again On My Own" and seemingly confronting the constrictive nature of his new legal and marital reality (deep breath). But I digress.

Anyway, I asked this lovely woman if she'd ever used the term "mental Trans-Am" before and she said she hadn't. Which made me happy. Because I felt like this was some oddball/brilliant idea/moment that would always be ours whether we see each other again or not. I mean, there are so few truly unique moments like that in the world these days. So I said I'd work on it and here's what I came up with.

For me, my "mental Trans-Am" is the idea of those key moments of inner conflict and turmoil (big life issues, stress, heartbreak, etc.) that threaten to pound my little Puerto Rican heart in to the pavement and the method with which I'd thus go about addressing them--through the simple act of walking out my front door (either physically or mentally) getting in my Trans-Am (even though it's really a Saturn) and just driving round and round. Like Frank the Tank, I'm often confronted with the cruel taunts of reality from time to time and I can either go full throttle off the deep end streaking through the muck and the mire, or I can choose to deal.

And as you'd probably guess, music is in my arsenal. So I workshopped (yeah, I said it) and road-tested my musically systemic approach to combat what can aptly be referred to as "those moments" and created the following playlist in four movements:

1. Contemplative: Ease my way in to my head and prepare to confront what must be confronted through careful consideration of life as it stands. The lyrics mean something here to be sure. (Tracks 1-3)

2. Cathartic: Loud, hard-driving punk rock designed for the necessary release of the soul's vitriol. "Depth" can go sit in the corner. Mom, you won't like these songs, but it's all part of the process. (Tracks 4-6)

3. Indulgent: Early 90's alt-rock that reminds me of my youth and allows me to remember what needs remembering--that it's okay to grab that warm blanket of nostalgia every once in a while. Familiarity often equals comfort. (Tracks 7-9)

4. Rectification: Songs that bring me back to the place I need to be--reminding me that certain realities are truly for the best, that God has His hand on me, and that the world is big and small all at once and it passes as it always does. (Tracks 10-12)

Thus, my mental Trans-Am playlist--or one of them anyway. I suppose it's almost more of a formula than anything else. Chemistry's a tough task. Almost as tough as self-treatment. But ultimately, certain drives are just plain worth it.

Quick Music Jerk 3: Dirk, Responding to Feedback So Hard and Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-06-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

Dirk.

1. Dirk. Because this week belongs to him.

2. I'd like to deliver a thanks to all of you who provided feedback, opinions, and even some general bitching about last week's playlist of songs I love by bands I hate. A few notes on that:

Those of you upset by my inclusion of U2--I understand. If my favorite band had peaked when I was eight years old, I'd be frustrated, too.
As I told a friend last week, I probably don't "hate" The Shins. I think I'm just frustrated by how bored and indifferent I am to them these days. Or maybe that I ever thought they were worth getting excited about. In life, someone has to pay for our unmet expectations.
Arcade Fire in some ways is my kryptonite--but I find that criticism of Arcade Fire is the kryptonite for many of you. I've got a hairline like Lex Luthor, so I might as well embrace it.
The Weezer point, on the other hand, seemed to resonate with many of you. Though I must lend some credence to the theory my best friend Clint has on this matter: Maybe it isn't Weezer that has changed. Maybe WE'VE outgrown them and we either can't admit it or forgive them for THAT fact.

3. Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

Adorn EP by Mint Julep: Every now and then a random band or artist will stumble upon my blog and request to follow me on Twitter. Well, something truly special has landed in my lap in the form of this husband/wife shoegaze/electronic project from Portland, Oregeon. This 3-song EP is a mere teaser for their upcoming LP and it packs a wallop. Gorgeous, layered sheets of sound and beats create a complex yet completely accessible and addictive sound. A tiny little epic beauty.

For fans of: School of Seven Bells, Phantogram

i Want! i Want! by Walk the Moon: Another somewhat random discovery (though I work hard at that sometimes) who has become a mainstay of my iPod and my brain the last week or so. It's well-crafted indie guitar pop that retains a fine balance between weird and direct, serious and silly (the album includes a "chipmunk" version of one of the songs--and it actually doesn't sound half bad). They're not forging bold new ground, but they sure seem to have taken the elements you like--even the seemingly ill-fitting ones--and found a way to mold it in to something so damned catchy and fun. A great, great summer record.

For fans of: The Stills, Dirty Projectors, Ra Ra Riot

Teenage Hate by The Reatards: If you don't or can't love punk rock, this album isn't for you. Plain and simple. This complete (I believe) collection of tracks from the late, great Jay Reatard and his teenage 3-piece punk rock band is angry, funny, catchy, and rough around all edges. But there is no denying the brilliant undercurrent present at nearly all times which hints at the solo brilliance to come and vanish all too quickly. Some of us (including myself) just need this kind of music sometimes to remember what it was like and what it still sometimes feels like to boil with raw emotion.

For fans of: Jay Reatard, The Oblivians, other quality noise punk

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Songs I Love By A Dozen Artists I Hate*

2011-06-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

*"Hate" is a strong word according to my mother. We don't "hate" anything in this family. We strongly dislike.

Taste is not an absolute science. Take me for instance. No one has better taste in music than me. That part IS science. But part of maintaining a high degree of "music taste" inevitably involves having some "music principles". I reject those whose answer to the question "What kind of music do you like?" is "Well, I really do like everything." That's like saying you "believe everything". What that ultimately means is that you really believe nothing because everything then is true and nothing is false. It just doesn't work that way. Have some balls. Be okay with saying something sucks--a truly guiding principle of this here blog.

But as I stated from the outset, taste is not an absolute science. While I principally hate* certain artists/bands, it doesn't mean that I am immune from being seduced by them on occasion. For me (and I suspect for many of you), there are probably about four hate* categories when it comes to music.

Category 1: Artists/bands who you and most others truly believe have a big bag of nothing in terms of talent, depth, execution, etc. Though this does not necessarily preclude them from finding a bone once or every so often (as this playlist will attest)

Category 2: Artists/bands who you freely acknowledge have talent, but you just can't stand them personally whether it be for their smug sense of self-importance or their dickish personas. I sometimes refer to this as the "Tom Cruise Principle". There's no denying the guy has been great in some great movies, but I just can't separate my disdain for who he appears to be in real life (i.e. Scientology, weird rants about anti-depressants, public kidnapping of Katie Holmes, etc.) from his work any longer. Many of the artists/bands in this playlist fall in to this category.

Category 3: Artists/bands who have succeeded in convincing people they're great, but for some reason you just can't see it and it makes you crazy. This is my aforementioned "ENC" or "Emperor's New Clothes" principle (courtesy of Mr. Chris White). Like Category 1, this doesn't preclude them from occasionally stumbling upon gold accidentally.

Category 4: Weezer. Or the band you once loved but who you feel at some point betrayed all of their principles and practices musically and now just suck. And you can never forgive them for it.

So it goes without saying (since I said it in the title of the playlist), that I truly do love these songs. And I can admit that despite my hatred of these bands for the aforementioned reason because I know that to try and maintain a purity of principle regarding music hatred would keep you from enjoying some songs that just plain do it for you--even if those reasons aren't always clear. Look, I believe wholeheartedly that Jersey Shore represents everything that the world and people with intelligence ought to condemn about America. But damn, if it's not a cornerstone of my DVR schedule. So while I'm happy to distribute the Haterade regarding these bands ad nauseum (it's almost a sport for me), I'll gladly make an exception every once in a while to drink their Kool-Aid when it's merited. I'll let you guys decide for yourselves which categories each of these bands fits in to. It's a fun, fun game.

Playlist of the Week: Weekender 0511

2011-05-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

There's no better way to capture the spirit of a long Memorial Day Weekend than by making plans.

No real entry today other than to say a few quick things:

1. These playlists are even better to listen to on the go in your car or while working out. I remind you once again as a service to you. Learn how to do this and thus, completely turn your life around here.

2. I dare you to find another playlist with both The Monkees and Arctic Monkeys on it.

3. Despite the general dismissal of Angles by both the hipster media complex and even seemingly by some members of the band itself, this Strokes album grows on me with each listen--and "Life Is Simple In The Moonlight" is one of their best ever tracks. Eva.

4. Be safe. Enjoy the playlist. Love you.

Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-05-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

I have a brother named John who is an orchestral musician. I like this new avant-pop/folk orchestral group called Brother John. But my brother John is not in Brother John. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Sometimes you just don't have enough to say--or you just don't have time to say it. All I know is that all I have and have time for this week is music you don't likely have but definitely should have if you probably want to stay friends with me. In all likelihood. Enjoy yoselves, fools.

Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

the tiniest bones, the infinite everything EP by Brother John: Odd. Beautiful. Oddly beautiful. In a growing trend of orchestral-infused folk and pop, Bloomington, Indiana’s Brother John somehow seems different to me. Lush instrumentation here (which you expect) is combined with vocals whose intent is less to convey a message and more to create a mood. Soundscapes (you’ll notice the crickets) layered with sometimes creepy, sometimes beautiful harmonies create something truly distinctive. This EP seems to just be scratching the surface of something utterly captivating and unquestionably distinctive. (Stream the entire album here.)

For fans of: Department of Eagles, Seryn, These New Puritans

WWII by The White Wires: Other than the occasional flurry of apocalyptic tornadoes, the weather in this part of the world is getting downright gorgeous and the time is right for fun, sunshine-laden rock music. Enter The White Wires--a Canadian band who has no business being this good at joyous surfer rock (I mean, it's Canada up there!). Song titles like "Let's Go to the Beach", "Summer Girl" and "Be True to Your School ('Til You Get Kicked Out) tell you almost all you need to know. Just take my word for it--it's nearly impossible to listen to this album without smiling, bobbing your head, singing along or a combination of the three. Get this. Have fun.

For fans of: early Beach Boys, Gentleman Jesse, The Exploding Hearts

Cat's Eyes by Cat's Eyes: Moody and atmospheric but nonetheless an endlessly romantic album. The "band" is really just two people--Horrors frontman Faris Badwan (sounds like a Jedi) and classically-trained vocalist/organist/composer/multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira. His dark bass combined with her haunting soprano and composition create an album that in some ways is all over the place--but in other ways strikes all the right chords and leaves you genuinely affected.

For fans of: Mazzy Star, Fever Ray

For those who may have missed my previous references to them, watch this achingly beautiful video of their "impromptu" performance of "I Knew It Was Over" at The Vatican:

Playlist of the Week: Quest Practice

2011-05-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

If you're prepared to hunt it, you've got to be prepared for what happens when you catch it.

According to my new Kindle which replaced my old Kindle that I recently left on a plane to New York to see my brother who reads much more than I do these days, I'm 19% of the way through Moby-Dick. I've always wanted to read this book and never have but am determined to do so. There is something mentally 4-D about being determined to accomplish a long unaccomplished goal which centers around a book about the same concept.

Not that reading Moby-Dick is THE "white whale" in my life. If I'm honest, I suffer from the same generational inability to keep that exact thing from being anything other than a moving target. In the past, its been "that job" or "that girl" or "some girl" or "this house" or "that family" or "that weight" or whatever--at any given time I would have felt in the most hidden parts of my little engine-that-could heart that all of these things were JUST the thing I needed. You know. To be happy. Every now and then though, you stumble upon catching one of these "white whales" and then...well there's something else.

For others, it's less a single particular objective and more of what Cuba Gooding, Jr. referred to in Jerry Maguire as "the Quan"--you know, love, respect, community, money...all of it. And while I'm not remotely close to this all-encompassing state of self-actualization, I find myself turning a particular corner related to my lifelong whale-hunting passion.

I'll get to the super sharp point of my harpoon quickly: All I've ever wanted are things, concepts, commitments and people--some more important than others. And if I miraculously got all of them at any point, I'd be happy for....well, probably a few minutes or maybe even days. And then? So is there anything good on TV? Anyone going to the bar? When is this team gonna finally win a title? Why can't my wife wear good underwear anymore? Why aren't my kids smarter? When will I have enough money to retire? I'm retired, but what is there to do? I'm retired, I don't want to DO stuff all of the time!

My curse is that I know ME way too well. If I invest all of my emotional capital in the dogged pursuit of what essentially boils down to "stuff", what will I have left over to give to any of it if I actually get it? You all know that person who says, "If I just moved to this city" or "If I just could find someone" or "If I just made this much money" or "If I just got this job". All of these people--at least the odds say--have a decent chance of actually capturing their white whale. But what then? What happens when we capture the damned whale and we realize we've got to do something with it or that there's a bigger whale out there?

So as time goes by, my thirst for the "hunt" is waning. This doesn't mean I have no goals or "want". I'd just prefer to enjoy today and think about happy hour. I mean, there are so many types of scotch I haven't even tried yet! Tomorrow, there's a good movie to take my mom to for her birthday. Sunday, I get to share dinner with my entire church family. Monday, maybe I'll go see the Thunder game. Each day has something cool to offer and lately, I've just plain forgotten about my "life checklist". I'm 31, unmarried, and don't own a house. By many conventional standards, I'm a complete failure. And yet lately, I haven't really thought about it too much except for a few fleeting moments. I promise you, my friends, that I'll work harder on feeling more ashamed. It's just that lately I've been too busy allowing life to somehow go on. I guess this makes me unambitious or something. But honestly, I think I'm just tired of being seasick.

Tyler the Creator and the Sad Stylishness of Sickness as High Art

2011-05-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

The only way to avoid the idiocracy is to first reject it.

Since my last post--and frankly, even before it--the subject of Tyler, the Creator has been buzzworthy amongst my friends. Known for lyrics delving in to the darkest areas of homophobia, violence, sexual depravity, and even rape fantasy (at a level that makes Eminem sound like Justin Bieber), he has been lauded by many music critics for his "artistic genius" and "creative power". I'm certainly no Puritan when it comes to music and lyrics--the expression of pain, resentment, or loss can't always be sterilized if artistic integrity is to be maintained. Furthermore, as a big believer in the rights of protected free speech in our country (which inevitably and sadly even includes hate speech), I'm certainly not advocating the "banning" of any music or artist.

Having said all of that, I'm here to call it out. Not Tyler, the Creator. He can say and write and rap whatever he wants to and if someone wishes to pay him for it--well that's America, right? My artistic nausea stems from the "indie music" media establishment who carefully crafts, markets, and outright explains away this depravity as "high art" that we should all love unless of course "we just don't get it"--an accusation that has been levied at me a time or two in recent weeks. And my response? You're absolutely right. I do not get it.

Hey, feel free to check out my music collection, conduct a "moral audit" and call me a hypocrite. I can only assure you that there is nothing with the level of sheer depravity of Tyler, the Creator in my collection. But that's really not the point. Again, my outrage is less with him and more with those who prop him up in the most disingenuous and ironic sort of ways. It's probably fair to say that the vast majority of the hipster establishment that make up contemporary music critics would be characterized fairly (at least in their estimation and mine) as "liberal", "progressive", "Democrat", etc--all labels that describe me to a certain extent, by the way. I know so many of these people who are outraged when a politician on the right uses a racial epithet or a frat guy date rapes a girl or a gay friend is targeted for a hate crime by a group of rednecks. And while I don't expect these same people to say that Tyler, the Creator can't make an album the way he does, I do find it a little surprising that they celebrate and promote his "work" as "brilliant art" to the level that they do.

Now this is where I get told once again that "I don't get it". That this isn't the same because he's NOT a politician and he's NOT actually raping someone and he's NOT actually physically assaulting a homosexual person in the way that he happily muses on his album. I completely concede this point. But isn't just using the "forcefield" against criticism of these lyrics that this is "art" or "satire" a lazy defense at best? Hey, if you're gonna own this, then OWN it. Just because Pitchfork has wrapped this guy up in a nice little hipster-friendly package doesn't mean that it is any different than the Neo-Nazi punk/metal bands or old racist David Allan Coe tunes that these same people condemn and distance themselves from. There's a fine line between celebrating and encouraging violence and it's a muddy/nearly non-existent line at best between this guy and those aforementioned acts. But one is critically celebrated high art and the others are considered hate music. One just has support from trendier websites and better marketing execs at their disposal.

Look, I feel the need to reiterate that I'm not an old curmudgeon from Pleasantville who thinks we should burn all the controversial records and books. I'm simply asking us to consider why we give a free pass to sentiments and opinions we'd otherwise find reprehensible and deplorable because of the "cool packaging". If calling it "satire" or "art" makes you feel better about it, that's your prerogative. But don't tell me with a straight face that this is important, vital music that deserves celebration. I reject that sort of herd mentality in our present musical idiocracy. We're all entitled to our artistic opinion. This is mine.

Quick Music Jerk 3: Concert Overload, ENC's, and Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-05-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here, Interpol remind us that dressing well and the rocking hard are not mutually exclusive skills.

1. I could devote a year's worth of blog posts to chronicling my concert-going April. But if a picture's worth a thousand words, then...ummm...I could you know, make it short or to the point or somesuch? Or something like that. There's a brilliant analogy somewhere in the dark recesses of my skilled brain and that's a guarantee. So here goes:

April 8--Real Estate (Club Dada, Dallas): Annoyingly young (Makes me feel like I've done nothing). Beach-drenched guitars hum just as sweetly live.

April 19--The National (Cain's Ballroom, Tulsa): Great. Just not quite as great as Dallas. Still great.

April 20--Interpol (Cain's Ballroom, Tulsa): Raw. Clinical. Dark. Power. Exceeded all expectations. Best show of 2011 thus far.

April 30--Ty Segall (Norman Music Festival): Rock noise with skill and hooks. Fun as hell.

April 30--Peelander-Z (Norman Music Festival): I am insane now.

April 30--Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (Norman Music Festival): Rock. Soul. Belly dancers.

April 30--The Walkmen (Norman Music Festival): Proof that even the best of shows can be almost ruined by teenage hipster douchery. Free festivals may just not work.

2. I have a new term I'd like to unveil for certain bands/artists that succinctly makes an otherwise layered argument--"E.N.C."

E.N.C.: Label attached to a band/artist with an artificially-inflated reputation fueled by trendy, hipster-hyped groupthink, a la the moral of The Emperor's New Clothes.

Here, I'll use it in a sentence: "Sorry Jake, but no one actually thinks Panda Bear makes good music--he's just a complete and utter E.N.C.".

Recent examples of this include, but are not limited to: Tyler the Creator. James Blake. Discuss. I anxiously await your outrage.

3. Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

Kaputt by Destroyer: Lyrics of abstraction combined with beats of attraction. This is about the smoothest album you'll hear in these current times. As in silky smooth vocals and heavenly smooth harmonies--and did someone steal Sade's sax player for this album?? Did I mention smooth?

Actor-Caster by Generationals: Less "dance-y" but no less catchy derivative of MGMT in many ways. One of the surprise treats of 2011 so far and a real contender for album of the year-type honors from your favorite music blogger. Or maybe even me.

Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes: I was ready to be disappointed with this sophomore effort, but this band just makes beautiful, choral-centric music that satisfies and pleases. It's obvious that a lot of work and skill goes in to making this music, but the execution of it sounds anything but complex. Liking this album is an effortless venture.

Later. Gators.

Playlist of the Week: Alternateenage Dream

2011-05-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

You either know who this young, romantic idealist is or you don't. I used to be like him. Maybe you did, too?

It's been an inexcusably long time, I know. For every "go", there must eventually be a "stop". And if you gogogogogogogogogogogogogogo, you can imagine what kind of stopstopstopstopstopstopstopstop lies ahead. Well, I've hit mine of late, but I don't want you to think I've forgotten you. Or music. Or hope or any of that fun stuff.

I just miss youthful energy. Don't get me wrong, I'm only 31 and not exactly dead yet. But I'm talking about that youthful exuberance that fueled that heart and that engine because I was going to do great things, see great places, meet great people as soon as I "get out of this town!" Back in those days, music wasn't just another trade-able commodity in the attention-span challenged universe of social networking and on-demand downloading. It was something more--even if I don't know exactly what that is, don't worry about that right now. Just know that I felt the tone being set for how I looked at the world being largely molded by what I listened to and that massive stack of CDs I had no room for. I feel about the era of music from 1991-1998 the same way many of your parents do about the 1960's. I typically roll my eyes at such overly romanticized Baby-Boom proclamations because we know that they're just being silly and that the music from the 60's wasn't THAT great. But me? There's NO WAY I'm overly romanticizing the musical era of my youth! As if!

So what got me thinking about all this lately? This hilarious video clip from the IFC series Portlandia that my friend Don recently introduced me to. As much as this is a parody, there's a definite, slightly uncomfortably accurate undercurrent of truthiness to "it"--the "dream of the 90's":

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So why the sudden bout of good ol' days syndrome? I suppose I've just been confronted lately with the whole "youth is wasted on the young" reality of life lately. There's no question that on most levels (other than my whole hair situation, for sure), "life" is much better for me. I have a great job, more money in my pocket, great friends and family and a solid set of Guatemalan restaurant options in my current city that may be unmatchable anywhere outside of Guatemala. I just wish I wasn't so distracted by how much "everything" there seems to be. How can one focus in a world like this with so much stimuli and technological drone? It's exhausting and I want my "angst" back. Not the douchey "I'm gonna write a notebook of bad poetry while lounging at a coffee shop with my friends while trying to sneak cigarettes whenever I can and proclaiming that 'the world is a vampire' sorta angst. I mean the angst that got me to really strive for something more and invest in the pursuit. Life is pretty good, but I just need more of an edge. Sure, there are trade-offs regarding responsibility, compensation, time, etc. But I want that revolutionary teenage feeling back again.

And I want my music and the pursuit of it to feel that way again. Music is either good or moving or powerful or it's not. It should not be a numerical score and feeble currency in a hipster economy. So here's a shot of "alternative" from my musical nostalgia time machine. I'm not claiming it to be any sort of critical, meaning-filled collection (some of these are downright guilty pleasures)--just an honest, accurate mini-sample of the hope and despair, the devotion and the doubt of a teenage kid with big dreams of love and success who once sported a gorgeous mane of black hair. Enjoy. And get moving.

Playlist of the Week: Groove Nocturnalism

2011-04-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

The best poem I ever wrote was about Sarah Michelle Gellar. But I can't find that one.

Groove Nocturnalism

Let me assure you that this is a tribute to us all as well as to them—even if you don’t see it at first, you will

Chances are, you grasp for your sanity or your liberation privately in that way that we all do sometimes. You turn it on. You turn it up. You dance and dance and dance and dance and dance

Dancing is an expression that goes all the way back and up and down and in our souls and in our hearts for years past and ahead of us. It’s like bowling or pool or love—the joy, the honor, the point is in the effort and the action of it all. It doesn’t matter how well-versed or skilled you are at it. You do it on your feet or in your car or in your bed and in your dreams, high flyer

“Sing-along songs will be our scriptures” is a line I lock up and keep real close and I move and move and try to capture it all while letting it all go

Or maybe I’m just celebrating my eternal freedom through God or my temporary freedom in the night from work and heartbreak and obligations to all that I am and need to be before it’s too late

Underneath it all is the goal—the goal to slay all that can be slayed and realize all that is dreamed. Keep moving and don’t forget to smile because no one likes a morose man in these present times

Never—I repeat never—forget that they’re called pieces because they can be put together again

Dance with and because of this knowledge and then forget about it all so you can just dance and absorb that beat and that groove that’s calling you so fiercely tonight

So much of the darkness in my heart is given up in these moments and something better than hope appears

You all know the mechanism--the procedure for mending that heart but never know when you are finished until you do and then it's time

Such is the time for me, I can finally say—a feeling built on more than faith that it will eventually be alright. But instead on the manifestation of peace in my heart as my feet move to the beat of Daft Punk transitioning with jarring brilliance to Justice!

Take this groove nocturnalism in a moment of your choosing and be satisfied with it all—even if only for a few moments

Everyone deserves a break and a beat. Beat-BEAT-beat-BEAT-beat-BEAT-beat…faster and then sloooooower and then fast again

My turn is concluded and I hope you see the message and the MESSAGE as well as any other greater truths that may find their way to you this night because of or despite all this

How My Blog Just Became More Important to Your Life (if that's even possible)

2011-04-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna make this quick so as to allow for an immediate mind blowing start to your week. The day I've been telling you about and waiting and waiting and waiting for is finally here. 8tracks--the site where I build the embedded playlists I use in this here blog--has today released their iPhone app! Yes, the single biggest obstacle to enjoying my finely crafted playlists on the go has finally been eliminated. My entire collection of playlists--along with thousands of other users and their playlists--are now accessible via this FREE app. Here's how it works:

1. Go to 8tracks.com and create an account. It's free and takes very little time. Once done, you'll be able to upload your own music and create your own playlists to either share or for your own personal edification. Or you never have to create a playlist but can still search through other "DJs" and their playlists. I can't tell you how much great music I find via this type of sharing. Well I guess I could, but we really don't have time for that now.

2. Once you've created an account, go to my profile--8tracks.com/robrobriot--and "Follow" me by clicking that large "Follow" button.

3. Download the app via the iTunes App Store. Search for 8tracks Radio and install. It's free.

4. Once installed, log in and you're good to go. When you launch the app, a menu of options will open that will allow you to find mixes in a variety of ways. If you click on "Mix Feed", you'll have all playlists by 8tracks users you follow readily accessible--which means that if you're following me, you'll have quick access to all of my playlists (you're welcome). If you "Like" particular playlists--which you can do on the website or on the app by clicking on the heart icon--those playlists are available to you by clicking on the "Liked" icon.

5. The app also allows for easy sharing of playlists via the Twitter app as well as the ability to share via Facebook. I'm sure the app will continue to evolve as all apps do, but this is a pretty sweet start.

So go for it. I hope this makes the playlists I create for you much easier to enjoy. But most importantly, I hope this makes it easier for all of you to discover and listen to great new music. New Playlist of the Week coming soon. Later, gators.

Playlist of the Week: Workout Playlist 411

2011-04-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's all about core. Hard core.

If I write this post, I will have no choice but to get back to working out. If I write these words. I will have. No choice.

Along with a variety of other personal changes, the last year or so has left me more convicted about doing what I say I'm going to do. Believe you me (that's just poor, but oddly accepted grammar), you never know when not following up on personal commitments or promises to yourself or others might prove tragic. On the less dramatic end of things, I have decided that this week I simply must start working out again--a promise which means little to you, my beloved and highly attractive readers--but means something very significant to me.

I view the pursuit of a "situation" much like the police view their pursuit of a crime-free world: Sure, in all likelihood it's impossible to attain, but the pursuit is a just and noble one. To one degree or another, my sweet body with my beautiful hands and legs and various assorted other striking features I can't recall at this moment but am sure are there was riddled with weakness and brokenness after a couple of recent surgeries. But when your supposedly temporary lethargy turns in to your ritual de lo habitual, you're something worse than just lazy. You're a lazy excuse-maker. And I did not watch my buddies die face down in the muck in Vietnam to tolerate lazy excuse-makers--especially when that lazy excuse-maker is me.

So in the spirit of telling my mother I quit smoking the day after I quit smoking, I write these words to bind me to the promises I make to myself about myself. Told you this blog was sacred. Ah, there's nothing quite as rewarding as making a new year's resolution in April to inspire the masses. But if I'm gonna break this current spell, my first new workout playlist in some time may have to rock just a little harder than usual--nay it may indeed have to rawk. Now as I've always said, there is no reason to compromise your music values just to create a workout mix. And if you go back and read the blog I just linked in that last sentence, please ignore the part where I promise to post a workout playlist each week while still believing me when I say the words in THIS post are a binding promise that I'll assuredly keep. I was a completely different person in 2009 and at least 30 pounds heavier and a liar in all likelihood. But I am a liar no more. And that is not a lie and is mostly true. Twelve song playlist. Four decades spanned. Six-pack dream. One promise to fulfill. See you on the recumbent bike path to glory, kids.

Quick Music Jerk 3: Seryn, Facebook and Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-03-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is Seryn--which I think is Spanish for "Rob's favorite new band". Oh wait, that's ridiculous. I meant "Roberto", of course.

Greetings from St. Pete Beach, Florida. To answer the question I'm sure you're asking, the answer is yes. I did go to the beach. Nothing worse than going to the beach and being unable to jump in the ocean on a beautiful day. So I guess I'll blog instead. Yeah, that's just as good.

1. So I've been quietly whipping my friends for the last week or so about this band--Denton's very own Seryn (hit play above). It's like someone took Fleet Foxes' vocal harmonies, mixed it with The Dodos penchant for hard-charging precision percussion, and added in a heap of unadulterated Ra Ra Riot-esque string-heavy passion. And they do it with five members who all take lead vocal duties at any given time. iTunes allows for you to select a genre for any album you import and I just have a hard time picking one. Maybe I'll create one called "Dodoriotfox". Look, I'm not saying this band is creating a style of sound we've never heard before--I'm just saying that they've taken their influences and merged them better than any band I've heard in a long time. And damn if their sincerity doesn't come pouring out of the speakers. They mean this and it sounds important to them that you to know that--as long as you still have a good time listening. And I think you will.

2. This blog now has a Facebook page. Click here to go to it. Why did I decide to create a page? A couple reasons. Part of it has to do with growth. A public page makes it easier to spread the message (I'm kind of a disciple) of good music. And wouldn't the world be better with more influence from me? Some questions answers themselves. Logistically, it makes sense to have a page so that I can post my blog entry--but also because it's easier to post random links to great music without having to devote a blog each time I want to share some gold with you. Finally, I just think it's cool in some way. In short, you're welcome.

3. Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

This Is Where We Are by Seryn: For all the reasons stated above. This band creates movements as much as actual songs. The album is rich and rewarding but never a burden. This album is a joy to listen to and a strong early contender in my best of 2011 list.

No Color by The Dodos: Their new album sees a return to the leaner, more muscular sound of the highly-acclaimed Visiter. While I their last album Time to Die seemed to get a raw deal from critics, I have to admit that No Color's sharper edges make for a more compelling listen. Great beats, great time signatures, great energy--you'll dig some melodic rock that embraces a good pounding.

A Thing Called Love by Johnny Cash: There is nothing I can say about Johnny Cash that hasn't already been said. If I have to tell you who Johnny Cash is, well...well I'd say you're like those people who actually need the flight attendant to explain how the seat-belt works. Anyway, this chick I know found this old record while out shopping and gifted it to me--which was pretty great. I'd never heard any of these Cash songs before, but found them to be absolutely classic and gorgeous. We all know the "hits", but it is often these forgotten gems that distinguish the greats from the legends.

From St. Pete's Beach, Florida, I bid you goodnight. The beach and the beers have made me....yaaaaaawwwwn....

Playlist of the Week: Blue Ash

2011-03-25T11:45:00.000-07:00


And when the only "choice" you're given is Skyline Chili, you long for a "City of Choices" instead.

Live from CVG after a week in Blue Ash, OH. Go ahead and scroll down and hit play. Beginning to think these instructions serve to enhance your reading experience so hard. I'll wait.

Today, I am dangerously low on profundity (yeah, I used that word). But luckily for you, I'm high on music enthusiasm for a couple reasons:

1. Based on blog stats, last week's playlist entry is my most popular playlist in the blog's extremely modest history. Great job, internet! While I certainly enjoy the twisted metaphorical roads I choose to navigate in this space, I know that the unifying concept is always the music and how awesome I am for choosing it.

2. So much great new music has come to my divided attention lately, even I have a hard time messing up a playlist these days.

So a dozen random/unconventional thoughts/observations for/of this week's dozen tunes, track by track:

1. If his voice sounds familiar, it should. Julian Plenti is the solo side project of Interpol's lead singer--who isn't actually named Julian Plenti.

2. This song embodies the concept that if your band--in this case The Rapture--is gonna peak early, peak LEGENDARY. Even if it's only just the one song. Sidenote: Awesome use of song and scene in The Rules of Attraction.

3. I think there's some law concerning interstate commerce that says a new Strokes song is required on all internet playlists this week.

4. I like Beach Fossils--especially their name. They adopted the Fight Club naming convention/philosophy. But please, please talk about Beach Fossils.

5. I know I just put The Streets on a playlist a few weeks ago. But it's a new song from a newly-released album. So there. I mean, get your own music blog. Jerk.

6. I love PJ Harvey for her music. But I'll also always love and remember her for this picture. Sigh... Sidenote: Guy sitting next to me in airport just looked over at my computer when I pulled that picture up either in awe or in judgement or likely a combination of both.

7. The next movie about a young and promising band that met a tragic end before their time should be made about these guys. And I should play their wacky, hard-partying, fun-loving manager--whether that guy existed or not.

8. See #5 and replace "The Streets" with "The National". And that especially goes for YOU. Yeah, you know who you are.

9. I kinda hate these guys sometimes--but they make a song like this just enough to keep me coming back. Some analogy regarding a bad girlfriend who is also really hot that I can't quite form at this moment could be inserted here. Let me know if you come up with something good.

10. Johnny gets it. Especially about the way that sometimes we just don't get it.

11. Tied for my favorite song title that also serves as a statement of universal truth. The other? "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise" by The White Stripes.

12. Seryn will be huge--a similar statement to the one I made regarding The Head and the Heart recently. I plan to see them in a couple weeks while the gettin' is good. Don't believe me? Check out #1 on this SXSW recap by Paste Magazine. Sidenote: I occasionally pronounce "huge" as "yooge" just to keep things interesting. Try it. "I have a yooge crush on Rob and his super rad music blog." Yes, you have to say the whole sentence just like that. Hey, I don't make the rules. It's science.

Quick Music Jerk 3: Real Estate, New Music Fever, and Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-03-23T06:35:00.000-07:00


Other than being a tough Google search, there's really no reason you shouldn't know about the greatness that is Real Estate.

1. Go ahead and click play. What you're hearing are the sweet beach guitar grooves and sun shower vocals of a little New Jersey band called Real Estate. And yet I am sad. Why, you ask? Two reasons: 1. I am shocked/disappointed at how many of my friends who I consider to be "plugged in" to good music drew a complete blank this past week when I asked them if they knew who Real Estate was. 2. This means they've obviously not been reading my music blog/listening to my playlists as much as they claim or they'd know EXACTLY who Real Estate is. When are you people going to realize it goes 1. Oxygen 2. Water 3. Food 4. Rob's music blog 5. Everything else? Their debut album was a 2009 best of selection by the only music source in your life who really counts--me. Anyway, Real Estate are coming to Dallas' venerable Club Dada on Friday, April 8th (tickets) and I will be there which means that Dallas' cool quotient will get a much needed boost. Check out this band over the next couple weeks and decide if you'd like to join me. We'll see a great show, eat some great Tex-Mex at Ojeda's, say hi to my mom--it'll be a great little weekend.

For starters, check out Real Estate's self-titled debut here.

2. I've got the new music fever. And the only cure is more and more and more new music. Or wait, is that a symptom of the disease? Help? Anyway, from The Dodos to The Strokes to recent releases by everyone from PJ Harvey and Peter, Bjorn and John to Lupe Fiasco, there's a little something for everyone and no site I care to affiliate myself with does a better job of collecting each week's list of new releases with links to songs and purchases better than Salad Days Music. You can find the link on the right side of this page (or you're a real genius and already clicked on the hyperlink I just provided). Bookmark it, add it to your Google Reader, tattoo the URL to your face so you see it staring back at you in the mirror every Tuesday, but either way, use it. And then come back to my site and find out what's really good, of course.

3. Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

What a Pleasure by Beach Fossils: Slightly hazy, dreamy, but still keenly-focused chillwave--this newly-released EP adds some new layers to the band's sound. A little more synth-y, but a step forward and a really good listen,

Angles by The Strokes: Who isn't listening to this album this week? Don't let the answer be you. Still spending time with this album, but my initial impressions are good--a balanced marriage between their classic early sound and a cool step forward which in many ways is a step backward to the 80's with some New Wave electronic beats. Worth a listen and still Strokes-y enough to make you happy, no matter what all the haters say.

Computers and Blues by The Streets: More wicked raw beat poetry than rap, The Streets is really one man--Mike Skinner. And this is officially his last album under this moniker. The first two albums--Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don't Come For Free are classics that measure up to any music I own. The last two albums have been bloated disappointments. This seemingly final installment--while not at a classic level--represents ending on a high. Skinnner's sincerity, vulnerability, and sharp wit are back. A concept album on love and "romance" in the modern technological/social networking age. I dig the beats, the words, the whole thing.

So from Cincinnati with love, I wish you a good week, my friends. Let me know what I need to be listening to and if I like it, I'll be sure to find a way to say I actually found it first. Haha. Mostly kidding. Ha. Ahem.

Playlist of the Week: MSPC13

2011-03-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

Walk left. Stand right.

Scroll down and hit play. You know you want to. It's Nina Simone. You'll like it. Go on. I'll be here when you get back.

Here we go... Greetings from MSP. C13. Minnesota sunset crafting an outline over shuttle trains flying by, airplanes sitting at gates like elephants waiting for their cue at the circus, herds of rollerboards tumbling down the plain that is the concourse. 722 PM. Two hours, thirteen minutes before I depart for OKC. I've become one of those guys who speaks of destinations in airport codes. Some like OKC are easy to decipher--others like MCI and BDN become my little easily discovered-via-Google secrets.

Before I got this job, I lived in Oklahoma. Two and a half years later, I realize that I live in America. This country--even this world--is a much smaller but no less brilliant and fascinating place to me now. My previous travel weariness was largely due to the psychological burden of "feeling" the "distance" on a map between states. But now everything is segments and connections and layovers and good airports vs. bad ones, good wireless vs. poor, good restaurants vs. Chili's-Too. And suddenly states and cities no longer mean the same in your head--especially when your average stay in any one place is about thirty-six hours.

No, America is now quite singular to me. And I'm out in it and I'm finding more and more to be--if not always fond of--at least fascinated by. All I have out here is God, my work, my music, my suitcase, my laptop, my phone, and my expense account. And while we're always led to believe this is all part of a shallow, exhausting, ultimately bankrupt existence, I couldn't disagree more. Out here I am sharper, more focused, more thoughtful, more independent, more friendly to strangers, more joyful at the sight of little moments. Little moments of love between families, lovers, and friends have over time become greater than the sum of their parts. Conversely, I've looked in the eyes of solitary strangers who carry a pain in their eyes I sometimes empathize with--and other times can't conceive of. Little moments that define all of us at various ends of that confoundedly indecipherable spectrum.

Young soldiers with that look of dread--and others with that easy look of relief. Men and women on cell phones laughing or crying uncontrollably. The woman changing out the trash cans or the man mopping the bathroom whose life I know nothing of--I see how some of them look at the travelers sitting at the gate so longingly--wondering what it would be like to get on that plane and exit this life. And yet others smile so effortlessly with that knowing look that says that this shift is just the time spent between the next party or gathering.

The airport--the road--is humanity at its best and worst and most tangible and shamelessly artificial. It is iPads and newsstands and endless coffee shops and moving walkways and never ever stopping combined with hurrying up to wait. It is all that I am and all that I am not. America and even the world are simply one big series of arrivals and departures where there is only one place you will truly call "home". And that is anywhere you, my beloved friends and family, can meet me for a drink, a conversation, or a laugh--hopefully all three. Being out here totally alone with absolutely everyone is a gift--because out here I know what all of you and all that I call "mine" mean to me.

Sun is down. Neutral Milk Hotel just finished. Goodnight. The best night.

Quick Music Jerk 3: The Walkmen, The Boom Bang, and Your Weekly Album Mandates

2011-03-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

These shadowy figures are music men. Gentlemen. Walkmen.

Stuff. Here goes.

1. Just saw The Walkmen in concert the weekend before last at the incomparable Granada Theater in Dallas. Please allow me to break some revolutionary music opinion-related ground and proclaim that they are a pretty great band. I'm a man who is dealing, who is comforted by a nice drink, and who feels things while not losing my balls. I am a man who is therefore grateful for the kind of soundtrack that bands like The Walkmen provide and certainly part of their target demographic--if I even believe they have such a thing. For my Oklahoma and north Texas friends who have never seen them, you have a golden opportunity--Saturday, April 30th at the Norman Music Festival. Which in case I need to say it, is in Norman, Oklahoma. And the even more golden-y part? Admission is 100% free. Make a road trip. Come see them. Come see me. And if you're going to the Arcade Fire show in Dallas that same night, it's okay. It tells me everything I need to know about you, your music taste, and our friendship on multiple levels.

2. The Boom Bang chose a band name that fully endorses the ethical principle of truth in advertising. And their live show thus delivers--even if it's a gut punch, it's one you thank them for later. My friend and business partner Clint wrote a great review of their new album (more to follow below) on his blog that says it better than I ever could. Don't worry about all the music references he makes that only about five people in the world probably get--he's saying the album is really, really good. And it is.

3. Three albums I'm listening to this week for a variety of reasons and, therefore, you should be listening to:

World War Fun by The Boom Bang: Loud. Noisy. Fun. Most importantly, good. (Should be on iTunes any second now)

12 Desperate Straight Lines by Telekinesis: One of my new favorite music sites, Old Waver says it best-- 90's power pop reminiscent of Matthew Sweet fused with the fuzz of a Dinosaur Jr. or pre-suck Weezer. In other words, people my age feel a little like a teenager again listening to this album.

The Head and the Heart by The Head and the Heart: I told you guys that this band might be the next big thing--and after seeing them live as openers for the aforementioned Walkmen gig, I feel even stronger in my conviction. Think late-era Whiskeytown (Ryan Adams pre-solo band) with more layered instrumental and harmonic skill combined with the energy of Mumford and Sons without all the overwrought Brit-Irish attitude (not that that's not occasionally a good thing). Either way, I can't stop listening to this album.

That's all for now my loves. Playlist arrives Friday. Here's hoping I'm looking California while feeling Minnesota the next couple days. Also, 8tracks--the site I use to create my playlists has an iPhone app coming any day now. So that dream of listening to my playlists while on-the-go? Keep it close to your heart, your wallet, your bedside table or wherever you keep your hopes and dreams these days.

Playlist of the Week: Illusioneering

2011-03-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

I'm not saying that this is what it looks like under my splint. But I don't know that it doesn't. And neither do you. Wouldn't that just be rad?

I am not an assassin. Seriously.

A while back, a friend of mine noted my seemingly never-ending string of 24-36 hour business trips and formed a hypothesis: That I am a covert assassin.

My response? That it's totally understandable how you could look at me, consider my intelligence, agility, and details-oriented modus operandi and think I have what it takes to be an extremely effective hired killer . But alas, while my travel schedule and general awesomeness mirrors that of a James Bond-esque agent of style and calculated mayhem, I am still just a plain ol' technology sales consultant a la Schwarzenegger in True Lies. (see what I did there?)

I am a man of many layers. I am a somewhat successful professional. I'm now a part-time concert promoter. I'm even the co-founder of a record label. Sure, we haven't put out a record yet, but don't worry about that. I mean, I'm pretty much exactly like Jay-Z if you ignore a few scant details regarding money, fame, power, and a hot wife. Yeah I'm pretty close on this one.

From afar, my life may appear to be more or less interesting to others depending on who you talk to. When the movie Up in the Air came out, many (hundreds, possibly thousands) of friends asked if the film was an accurate reflection of life for a man on a seemingly endless business trip around America's airports and hotels. "What a ridiculous question," I said. "My life is WAY more kickass than George Clooney's in that movie." Other than the fact that my airline status is slightly lower than his character's and other than the fact that I may or may not stumble in to as much random sex with hot women...and there's a slight chance I may not be quite as handsome or charming as George Clooney--a panel of scientists in Stockholm are supposed to deliver some results to me soon--I have it ALL over the guy in that movie.

I mean, did George Clooney get to drive a 2011--not a 2010, mind you--Ford Fusion around northern Tennessee for two days last week or get to tell the story of his broken wrist dozens of times to semi-attractive flight attendants like Christopher from Delta Airlines? I think not. But that's okay. Not everyone can have my high grade, full throttle life and I will just have to keep Mr. Clooney in my prayers.

I am a man of many layers with very few people who know exactly who I am and what that means. And that's fine. While most people in this world are adamant about making sure that everyone knows the real them or the Facebook/Twitter version of themselves that seems to be perpetually witty, topical, and well-adjusted, I've become more comfortable with abandoning the bit as time has gone by. I mean sure, there are people who think that about me. But there are also people and even friends who think I'm kind of a prick and others that think I'm a really nice guy or who think I have an adventurous life or a boring "corporate" life or a lonely life or no life. Let's just say that over the years, managing your own PR campaign becomes exhausting. So who am I? Well, if you even care to know, I'm sure whatever you think is probably right. And whatever I think of you is insightful and accurate since I'm so smart.

I'm a man of many layers, but also probably very few in a lot of ways. What's important is I know myself and like you, I alternate between liking and disliking, loving and hating me. Is there a nice neat answer to the question of who I am? The answer is YES and I know it and I have it written down somewhere or hanging on my fridge at home. But I'll never tell, just as I'm sure you wouldn't really tell me. I mean, what fun would that be?

Enjoy this week's music. I've got another operation/trip/mission/presentation to plan.

Playlist of the Week: Broken Wingedness

2011-02-20T16:31:00.000-08:00


I am handicapable! Ish.

Right wrist broken. Economy of words blogging philosophy to commence for 6-8 weeks. The playlists must go on. P.S. Rollerskating is dangerous.

Thoughts for the week:

Using an iPhone app that listens to my words and types them out the results should be somewhat interesting

Generally speaking people are nicer to you when you have one less usable arm.

God definitely has a sense of humor but I think with a purpose.

Everything becomes slower everything becomes more methodical. Everything becomes a way that I never done things before

More phone calls more direct conversation more personal interaction less text messaging less e-mailing

It is hard to type it is hard to text and yet ironically everyone text messages to ask me if there's any way that they can help

But that's okay I still love you guys

A different perspective a character building opportunity chance to relearn what I already learned

Putting on belts is surprisingly hard taking out my contacts and putting them back in a surprisingly easy

God definitely has a sense of humor. And this is good for me somehow and he knows that and deep down I know that to

Good music still helps new Radiohead definitely helps

31 -year-old man probably shouldn't be rollerskating especially 31 -year-old man is clumsy as me

Fitter happier more productive. Giggle

Yes I chose the song one wing for this playlist intentionally I pretty much had to include that song don't you think. The song works and is true on so many levels

Never been so glad to be left-handed and all my life. He could've been my left hand or my leg or my head I am so incredibly blessed

Music on this blog will stay good even if writing isn't

Goodbye. Love you listen to playlists. Enjoy. Let me know what you think try to do better next time at being more interesting

Playlist of the Week: Gentleman Rob's Heartbreak Companion

2011-02-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

Scotch is a scientifically-proven and effective solution for the problem of love. Look it up.

Well looky, looky it's that time of year again where upscale restaurants and greeting card companies get a short respite from the realities of our current economic downturn and we celebrate all things love. Now many of you who know me are probably expecting me to come on here and be Mr. Bitterpants (or Dr.Bitterpants if I go back to school), but I refuse to walk down that cliche road of telling you that love is bullshit or it doesn't exist or whatever. Love does exist. I swear I read that somewhere or it was on a TV special or something. So no need to go down that silly, misguided road again.

Having said that, it is one of my true core beliefs that every man--I won't speak for women even though I keep trying to no avail--should always, ALWAYS be prepared for heartbreak and have the proper playlist ready and waiting. Sure, there are all the stages that involve denial, anger, drinking, rebounding, rebound-related drinking, disappointment, despair, looking for homes/jobs in other states, drinking, and ultimately acceptance. I mean, duh. Everyone knows you can't avoid those critical stages of post-breakup resolution. But what are you going to be listening to while all of this is going on?

In this romance is dead, iPod-laden, 5,000 tracks or more generation we live in, you don't want to be scrambling around during your super awesome heartbreak experience looking for the right sad songs. I mean, if you just hit shuffle you could wind up accidentally hearing that Coldplay you fully intended to delete years ago or--worse yet--happy music. That is simply no way to cope with heartbreak on an auditory level.

For weird, voodoo-magical reasons borne out through my own experience and therefore most certainly your experience, sad music makes us feel better. Or at the very least, it makes us feel like we're not alone in our misery. Despite what we see in our friends' Facebook statuses, we are not the only ones in the history of the world to feel the sting of having our nuts caved in by a woman's metaphorical steel-toed boot. And these songs remind us of that. And that is good. Having a "go-to heartbreak" playlist is key to the process of healing because these become the songs that transcend one ex or another. It becomes the warm blanket you can always count on when it's all fallen apart again. Having been through such an experience last year, I can assure you that music helped and helps. And if you have a consistent set of songs, it makes it easier to remember the words when you get drunk and you're legally required to belt these songs out at the top of your lungs in your apartment much to the dismay of your neighbor. Or so I've heard.

So here is my up-to-date heartbreak companion playlist. Each song has a story and a memory associated with it. And I've got to say that since the list has been evolving since high school, some of the songs associated with previous heartbreak somehow end up becoming odd sources of comfort and border on actual humor because it's much easier to laugh at a version of you and the way you felt about the heartbreak from a decade ago. For those of you in love, I wish you well. For those of you still searching for love, my sincerest wishes for success. And for those recovering from love, pour a drink, put on your playlist, and know that tomorrow will be a little bit better.

P.S. Make sure she's "the one" before teaching her about good music. Otherwise, she'll haunt you with her presence at concerts of bands she never knew or cared about before she met you for the rest of your life.

Playlist of the Week: Polarizationing

2011-02-04T09:01:00.000-08:00


Is this Minnesota this week? Or Oklahoma this week? And would you bet your life today on that answer?

Short bursts of thought on things or music or this playlist--which is appropriate for my currently disjointed state of mind while I watch Snowstorm of Doom 2011 unfold:

1. I know I've come late to the Bon Iver party, but I dig it (thanks, Ms. Swanholm). Having said that, lead singer Justin Vernon is obviously using a fake voice. The fact that I still like it despite this bit is a strong testament to their quality.

2. I've received lots of questions lately from friends regarding the upcoming rock concert my friends and I are producing/promoting and I tried to answer many of them in my previous blog entry. But the question I get the most is, "Will I like this kind of music?". And my answer to you is two-fold. 1) If you like good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll, there's no reason you wouldn't enjoy it and 2) If a simple Google search is too difficult for you, I've included a Nobunny song on both THIS playlist and a previous playlist.

3. The Joy Formidable is the most promising chick-fronted rock band I've heard in years. Is that a somewhat sexist statement? Probably. But is it true? I think so.

4. This is one of the most beautiful music videos I've ever seen--and especially meaningful to me because the band--Cat's Eyes (whose debut LP comes out in the next month or so)--performs this live at The Vatican--a place I visited last summer on a day that I can only describe as the best and worst kind of day. Oh, and this song is also on this playlist. And it's pretty great on its own.

5. Interpol in Tulsa. Wilco in Denton at UNT. And of course, Nobunny in Oklahoma City. I'm establishing a pretty solid live music agenda for the year. You should join me. Unless I don't want you to. But otherwise, totally.

6. Wayne's World still holds up.

7. A proclamation: I just made it through three days in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I shall not let this weather keep me from the bar and friends and Friday happy hour--even if it means dragging some of you there myself, dammit.

Here's your playlist. All this snow for a southern boy produces a playlist as divided as his sanity is at present. First half, up-tempo rock. Second half, slows it down for your winter state of mind. Some new, some old. It's all over the place. Like you. Like me. Stay warm. Whiskey helps.

Creating Something Out of Nobunny

2011-01-30T12:31:00.000-08:00

If receiving a gracious kiss on the hand by a creepy old guy while you perform music with a bunny mask on sans pants isn't the definition of the rock 'n' roll dream, I don't know what is.

There are few oft-repeated adages that offend me more than "Those that can, do; those who can't, teach." I come from a family full of teachers and educators whose contributions to the lives of their students on a variety of intangible levels is almost certainly immeasurable. But I do lend some credence to the idea that those who can't perform music become music critics. And maybe in our current generation, a step down from the traditional music critic is the music blogger. Like me. Oh man, the word "blogger" just made me sicker than usual just now.

Anyway, I accept this critique with little problem for two key reasons:

1. Most music critics and bloggers these days are pretentious to the point of absurdity.

2. And while sometimes guilty of #1, I don't take myself or this blog very seriously as a rule. This has always been a vessel of distracting catharsis for me and has lately become a place to indulge my love of creating "mixtapes". Only with technology today, I can create a mix just for you. And you. And most ESPECIALLY you. But not so much you anymore. Get it? Got it? Good.

Having said all of that, I've decided to get in to the "creation business" when it comes to the music I hold so near and dear to my heart. Simply stated, my friends and I are putting on a rock show. And since you can't make that simple statement without it somehow implying that I'm gonna thrash a guitar or double kick-drum some poor audience in to oblivion, let me be clearer: My friends and I have managed to seek out and book one of our favorite rock acts--Oakland, California and Goner Records' own Nobunny--to perform a show here in Oklahoma City and we're investing our own money, time, and effort to make this happen. Creation.

I wrote last summer about seeing Nobunny perform here in Oklahoma City and what an absolutely fun and raucous party experience it was for those who were there. Does the guy have bits? Sure. He wears a bunny mask and keeps the details of his true identity largely hidden, but the music is pure rock 'n' roll indulgence. But the "fun" has definite substance as the guy is an incredible songwriter. His track "Live It Up" which was featured in one of my previous playlists, is worth a listen and speaks to me as a man on quite a few levels. And yes, I have more than one level. At least two. Maybe three.

The concert was the brainchild of my friend and honorary brother Clint who simply saw that one of his favorite rock acts was touring, skipping our fair burg, and had an open date that he felt would make sense to fill here. He came to a few of his close friends including Yours Truly who had so thoroughly enjoyed the experience of Nobunny's last Oklahoma City show and asked if we'd be willing to find a way to put our resources and efforts together to make this happen. And so we're making it happen. And you should come. Saturday night, February 19th at The Conservatory. Probably not your scene Mom, but I know you're proud of your little boy, regardless Details and ticket info here.

So what's the grand meaning of this all? I mean, there probably is no reason to take something simple and beautiful like an idea for a rock show put together by yourself and your closest friends and make something grandiose out of it conceptually. But I will say that--even though the concert hasn't happened yet--I'm proud of myself and my friends for not doing what we all too often are guilty of doing. You know what I mean--sitting around, bitching about something (like one of your favorite bands skipping your hometown--it cuts like a knife, sometimes) without a willingness to do anything about it. Like people who complain about politics but don't vote. Screw them. We didn't sit around and wait for others to make something we wanted to happen. WE made it happen. And I don't do that nearly enough. I feel emboldened. Empowered. And I hope that I can translate this philosophy--nay, this conviction--in to all areas of my life. You've all been warned. The stupid music jerk blogger is now part of the process as opposed to just being a spectator. Because who wants to be a spectator in their own life anyway? Not me. So that is my passionate plea to you my friends. Life won't wait. Go forth and conquer the seemingly unconquerable with an iron will and an unquenchable thirst for greatness. Just make sure to buy tickets to our show first.

"There’s gotta be more to this life than “Go to school, get a job, take a wife, ain’t it nice?”…I’m gonna try to live it up. I ain’t giving up. I’m gonna get what’s mine. Ain’t gonna waste my time. I’m gonna see the world. I’m gonna talk to that girl. I’m gonna do it right. I’m gonna start tonight."

--Nobunny from the song "Live It Up"

Playlist of the Week: Airport Commuter 111

2011-01-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry for denying you my latest playlist wizardry last week. You may have a hole in your heart, but I now have four in my mouth. It hurts just typing that.

So a few things I learned in the last week:

1. I think it might be better for my oral surgeon to learn the concept of "underpromising and overdelivering". This wisdom tooth--or should I say teeth (all four)--extraction was not the cake walk I was led to believe it would be.

2. Pain builds character. And while it's building that character in an excruciating way, all the other stupid pain you thought was really important--over money, personal life, your disappointing sports team, etc.--suddenly isn't so important. A nice bout of physical pain helps you realize that all those other things can't be that big of a deal if your mind can be so easily re-directed from them. After this week, I am less frustrated, less longing, less dissatisfied, less lonely, less heavy, less pretty much everything. A week ago, victory might have meant finding the love of my life, or having a family, or somehow becoming a fully realized man. Now victory would just be the ability to eat some chips and salsa. Perspective.

3. When you talk for a living like a do, a two hour presentation when your jaw is in searing pain is a true test of will. As well as a test of one's ability to explain away tears to a group of fifteen people you've just met.

4. And on the third day, God created hydrocodone. And He saw that it was good.

So here's your much delayed playlist, my faithful followers. I'll try to do another at the end of the week to make up for last week. Another airport commuter list for the dark and handsome gentleman who is back on the road again. Or for me. Whatever. Anyway, after the highly popular "Slow Jamz" playlist of last week, I thought it would probably be wise to mix in some tunes this week that don't explicitly involve the concept of "freakin' you all night long"--you know, just as a change of pace. All of this is either new music or music that's new to me. Many thanks to those of you who have made some strong to quite strong recommendations of late. Your input is appreciated when it is. And I mean that. So say a prayer/think a good thought for me as I head right back to cold, snowy, dirty Pennsylvania this week. I'll be thinking of you. Well, not you. But you? DEFINITELY.

Random, but potentially important note regarding this playlist: I think The Head and the Heart may just be the next big thing. In a good way.

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Slow Jamz

2011-01-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

I've always been told that it's only how you see yourself that's important. Well in that case, I choose to see myself as D'Angelo, circa 1999.

There have really only been a few music "phases" in my life. First there was my Def Leppard/INXS phase. I don't know why it was those two bands, but around 1987 I was pretty much convinced that there was really no need for any other music. Then there was a country phase. Sure I had all of Garth's CDs and always saved my best, most awkward, nervous efforts at school dances for some special girl who would slow dance with me to "The Dance". But I actually listened to country radio constantly and knew all the words to such classics as "Bubba Shot the Jukebox" by Mark Chesnutt. Who is Mark Chesnutt, you ask? Exactly.

But the final phase before my current phase which I just refer to as the "good phase" was the rap and R&B phase. Back in the day when I certainly couldn't circumnavigate the parental advisory stickers that drew me to music then like a moth to a flame, I made due by buying cassette singles of what I later found out to be the radio edits of my favorite songs (you'd be amazed how much different the radio version of every Dr. Dre single sounds than the actual album version--pretty shocking) as well as just going super-classy and recording songs straight from the radio on to blank cassette tapes. Now if I've lost any of you on what a cassette tape is, you should stop reading now.

Well thanks to a passionate suggestion in response to my solicitation for playlist ideas by my friends Melissa and Jessica, I've had the opportunity to quite scarily tap back in to those junior high years gone by--specifically to identify a dozen bona fide famous/infamous slow jamz. Oh, there's a "z" in "slow jamz", alright. Slow jamz are a very specific, but instantly identifiable sub-genre of R&B. And during the years I was growing up, they were my first introduction to R&B. I knew no Al Green or Marvin Gaye back in those halcyon days. No, I knew of H-Town and Silk and the great, great Jodeci as the bell cows of an entire genre. Sigh.

Slow jamz were and are really defined by some or maybe even all of the following devices:

1. Breathy, statements/monologues of intent. Almost like a sexual mission statement. But in a really breathy voice.

2. A promise--nay, an oath--to do this for all the ladies out there.

3. Use of the word "freak" as the f-word of record. In fact, "freak" was pretty much the way to get away with conveying all the dirty intent of the king of all f-words without saying it. Genius.

4. Promises of all-night love making encounters that in all likelihood created slightly unreasonable expectations for myself regarding "future Rob". I'm actually certain these kinds of songs created unreasonable expectations for both sexes.

With all that out of the way, here are a dozen slow jamz handpicked by myself and the aforementioned Melissa and Jessica. I want to be sure to mention them so that they can share in the glory. And the shame. This should hit a sweet/sour/cringe-worthy spot for those of you in your mid 20's to mid 30's, but I don't want to make any assumptions about what any of you have heard or hold ashamedly dear. A few of these songs are actually really good songs in any era. And some of them certainly aren't good, but there isn't one track here that didn't mean something to each of us at some point which would deny a smile on our face now. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a trip down memory lane. In a drop-top.

P.S. Thanks for all the recommendations and keep them coming. I plan to use them all at some point. Unless they sucked. But none of the ones so far have. I'm pretty sure. Also, say a prayer/think a good thought for me as I go under the oral surgeon's knife tomorrow. If for some reason I don't make it, this is goodbye. Sad that of all my playlists, this might be my farewell gift to you. You're welcome.

Quick Music Jerk: International Fame Monster, Housekeeping, and Brain Solicitation

2011-01-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

The monthly numbers don't lie. I'm pretty much a cultural phenomenon in Croatia.

1. The numbers above represent page views from the last 30 days or so and where they originated from. And while I'm not exactly threatening Perez Hilton or anything, about a third of all the page views I've received all-time (and no, mine aren't being counted here) have come in the last 30 days. So either I've suddenly become a really kickass writer (But who are we kidding? I've always been a kickass writer) or the playlists are creating some momentum. Either way, thanks! This is really just a fun writing project for me, but it's nice to see that a few people are checking it out. I'm especially intrigued by the scant international audience I have. I'm sure they're probably coming across my website on accident during web searches (The word "jerk" has quite a wide range of meanings and uses, apparently) or just trying to hack in to something. But hey, who cares? Let me hear from ya, Croatia!

2. A few "housekeeping" notes (now I'm angling for "housekeeping-related" searches to inflate my site traffic). Some of you have reported not being able to see these "alleged" playable playlists that I post each week (which are placed directly below the iTunes tracklist image). I've deduced that many of you are reading my blog via Safari and since Apple and Flash apparently have some sort of blood feud going, this may be the issue. I don't know enough about all that tech crap to have a definitive answer, but those reading in Firefox, Chrome, and IE haven't been reporting issues. Except one person. And she's got a permanent technological disability (amongst others) that probably can't be remedied.

3. To keep the whole playlist theme going, I'm shamelessly soliciting ideas for my next playlist which will go up some time in the next few days. Am I masking my own lack of ideas via a solicitation that suggests I truly value your brilliant input? Don't worry about that. The point is that I would love some ideas on different themes, genres, or other funny bits (maybe a dozen songs that make you want to get divorced) you might have in that pretty little head of yours. Generally speaking, any feedback on the blog is appreciated--especially negative feedback. Remember, your hate makes me stronger in that Darth Vader-y sort of way.

4. Finally, I want to point you in the direction of a few of those links there over on the right. As I imagine my playlists have become essential to the auditory fabric of your epic life, I have all of them collected via the site that allows me to create them--8tracks--and you can access them by clicking on the link that says "Music Jerk Rob's Collected Playlists". You can go to that site and create your own embeddable playlists that won't be as good as mine but might still be fun. Also--especially for those of you outside of Oklahoma--check out the link to The Spy FM. It is a truly independent alternative and indie rock station and a constant source for me in the pursuit of great new music. It's easy to stream both on your computer and via your smart phone and I can't speak highly enough of their station and their music selection.

Have a great Wednesday. I love you. Unless I don't.

Playlist of the Week: Audio Joy Pills

2011-01-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

Joy. When you're so happy, you need to punch something. But in a good way. Joy.

Ah, the enthusiasm and hope of the new year! It's that inspiring combination of resolutions made and a clean slate that makes our desire for mission statements, climbing mountains, and picking fights with grizzly bears all the more feasible. But much like the euphoria one feels with new love or the season premiere of Jersey Shore, the post-holiday reality inevitably sets in, expectations get lowered, and disappoint is likely to follow.

So how do we cope? Well I--like many of you--partially cope through external self-medication. But at least I do so in more positive ways now than before--though I'm sure that even "positive" is a relative term. Where once were cigarettes, booze, fast food, and music there's now exercise, less booze, good food, and music. Never being one to preach (about anything important, at least), I'll focus on the common denominator between the bad old days and the current slightly less bad new days. I have used and will probably always use music as a means of self medication. I spoke about this a bit in a previous entry, but while sad music will always be a strange and necessary bedfellow to one's own misery, there must be music that can provide that little jolt of joy. Maybe not so much as some long term treatment of your view askew, but as a quick fix whenever we feel that hopeful feeling we've seized on beginning to dwindle.

Consider those joyful songs we all have in our catalog like our own musical 5 Hour Energy. They don't solve all our problems, but they help remind us how great solutions can feel so that we might persist in this pursuit of that which we cannot completely articulate but that we somehow know is good and right. Audio catharsis. Stereo therapy.

On November 11th, I posted this as my Facebook status:

Just walked home from dinner, listening to my iPod and singing along at the top of my lungs to every word of "Stereo" by Pavement without a care in the world about anyone hearing or seeing me. And it's the happiest I've been in months. Amen.

These are the songs that give me those little moments of reprieve I need. They are my little audio joy pills. You've got yours. I've got mine. And mine are probably/definitely better, but that's alright. That's what I'm here for, remember? Now keep that brand new 2011 enthusiasm going. But don't be afraid to take a little boost here and there when you need it.

The Stereophonics of Hopeful Pyromania: The Year in Music 2010

2010-12-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

Some years, like bridges, deserve to be burned as you walk away from them and never re-visited. Luckily, the sountrack to a year like this is full of potential.

This was the longest year of my life. There's nothing implicitly suggested by the meaning of the word "long" that has a negative connotation, but whenever it's used it's almost always pejorative (using words like "pejorative" instantly make me a more eloquent, important, and physically attractive writer). This has been a long day, the flight was long, "Why does it take so long for them to make my BLT?", the verdict of the H.R. hearing regarding this trumped up sexual harassment allegation is taking a long time, etc. I mean, there are a few key instances when "long" is an endearing adjective, but I'll leave that to the suits in Washington to worry about.

This was the longest year of my life. And while there were a lot of positives for me regarding everything from God to overcoming challenges to traveling to Europe, there was enough ugliness, heartache, and being let down by people to give me the overwhelming urge to reach for the metaphorical gasoline and matches. But hey, no need to get all emo about the whole thing. Even though there were some "bigger" things this year compared to others, it was a mix of good and bad, great and terrible. In short, it was a year. And like most years you can remember, you have very little desire to revisit them unless absolutely necessary. Years like these--just as I believe is true, really, for any year--have a distinct feel. A taste. A smell. A vibe. And an integral element tying all that together is the sound of it all. It's all the big bad combined with the sugary sweet hazy goody good that inspires artists to compose and perform and for listeners to--well--listen. I do my best to burn the bridge of the year I'm about to leave behind--and I'll be burning this year's bridge with a bigger smile on my face. I'll take the important lessons with me and attempt to leave the rest behind. But I'll also take the music. And that--generally speaking--is a great thing.

I can't tell you all the details of 1997 that were undoubtedly "crucial" to me back in 1997. But I can tell you that OK Computer, Too Far to Care, Blur, and Something to Remember Me By came out that year and I still carry them with me to this day--and they actually allow me to remember 1997 more fondly than in all likelihood it deserves to be. Such is the transformative power of music or somesuch. Having said all of that, here are two key observations you should be aware of regarding the way I view the year in music that was 2010:

1. If you "need" the following entry to include Arcade Fire or Kanye West to edify you, stop reading now. Arcade Fire has a whopping EIGHT members now, wears those ridiculous outfits, has a talented frontman who is allowing his no-talent hack of a wife to ruin the band and well--I just can't suffer them anymore. Even if I do still love their first album, Funeral. And Kanye? His latest album was a good rap album, but lyrically it is the greatest monument to victim mentality/"you don't know how tough it is to be a celebrity" ever recorded. Music? Strong. Lyrics? Well, let's just say they require me to care about Kanye and I just don't. My bad.

2. Despite what some of you may have heard, 2010 was NOT--in my opinion--one of the greatest years in the history of new music releases in the history of ever and ever. Just because a lot of the bands you really like all chose to put out albums this year doesn't mean all those albums were exceptional and thus make it an exceptional year. A lot of my favorite artists/bands put out albums this year and exactly TWO of them were what I consider to be the best work of that respective artist/band's career. Really good albums this year, but let's tap the breaks on how "great" this year was. And let's tap the breaks on overusing the word "great" while we're at it.

So let's do this. Here are my favorite albums of 2010. Now my friend Katie can finally figure out how to best use those iTunes gift cards as I am her musical compass. And my friend Angela is probably already thinking that this entry is too long, but a year-end "best-of" list requires a longer entry so stop your whining. Same format as last year's list. A refresher:

Three categories. No rankings. Except for my favorite.

1. Honorable Mentioningz

2. My Favorite 10 Albums That Weren't My Favorite Album (in no particular order)

3. The Rob Album of the Year

Let's apply the people's elbow and get it on!

Honorable Mentioningz

III/IV by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals (Pax Ameicana)

The Quick Take: The latest and last entry to make it in to this year's list (it came out in December!)--and isn't it just like Ryan Adams to be tardy--III/IV is actually a double album that was recorded with his longtime band The Cardinals during the same sessions as his solid--if unspectacular--solo effort Easy Tiger. It--especially disc 1 which is presumably the III in this scenario--sounds like the spectacular rock album Ryan Adams has been trying so hard to create since he first released 2003's aptly-named and uneven Rock N Roll. Adams seems absolutely comfortable at poking fun at himself on this album--especially the more comic moments of his pre-sobriety. And he does all of this while tearing through themes of love, heartbreak, and lessons learned that feels cohesive and focused. Overall, these are tight, hooky, excellent rock songs that have all but assured me and many of Ryan Adams' fans that a sober Ryan Adams can still be a great Ryan Adams.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

The Orchard by Ra Ra Riot (Barsuk)

The Quick Take: Ra Ra Riot are one of my favorite underappreciated, slighted, "little bands that could". They don't need anyone's pity, but the lazy comparisons to Vampire Weekend are getting old. Here on RRR's sophomore effort, there are admittedly less obvious hooks, but there is a sweeping, epic depth they are seeking here that is worth the listen. There are still frenetic bass lines, pounding drums, those gorgeous strings, and Wes Miles' powerhouse voice--all which could lead you to think it's just more of the same. The "same" that is still here is still great. And the additional differences including the introduction of cellist Alexandra Lawn as lead vocalist on the gorgeous "You and I Know", the addition of a touch of synth, and the overall poetic upgrade to the lyrics makes it an album worth giving a real listen--if not several. For me, it's a keeper.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Interpol by Interpol (Matador)

The Quick Take: The biggest criticism I've heard of this album is that it sounds too much like Interpol's previous work. That's like saying Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson in every movie. Dumb. Some bands don't need to reinvent their respective wheels and Interpol is one of them. Dark, brooding, post-punk power that lingers in the air like a bad dream--these guys didn't invent this music but they are the best at creating it in our current day and age. Interpol isn't as strong as the essential Turn On the Bright Lights, but it retains the same atmospheric presence and songs like "Barricade" and "Lights" still find the band at their very best. Here's hoping for a shorter gap than we've grown accustomed to between this album and their next.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Hippies by Harlem (Matador)

The Quick Take: "Someday soon you'll be on fire and you'll ask me for a glass of water. And I'll say no. You can just let that shit burn." There is an art to taking petty feelings and ugly sentiments about love and making them both comical and poetic. This opening salvo from Austin-based garage outfit Harlem's latest album Hippies embodies that notion and introduces a rollicking, fun album that definitely has the power to make you laugh at how dumb love and girls and all that crap really is most of the time. The band's style certainly isn't unique, but I've got to say that the sheer amount of hooks and catchy little tunes on this album sets them apart from the glut of their "garage" contemporaries. The best example of this is the standout track "Gay Human Bones" which was selected as one of my dozen favorite songs of 2010. Unlike most of the album's songs, I cannot possibly tell you what this song is about or what it's supposed to convey. All I know is that I just can't stop listening and bobbing my oh so very Puerto Rican head to it. This album demands your attention and some of these songs will simply hold you hostage. Don't try to negotiate.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

My Favorite 10 Albums That Weren't My Favorite Album (in no particular order)

Before Today by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (4AD)

The Quick Take: So this is easily the weirdest album on this list. But in a good way. A great way. It honestly is like 70's FM soft rock mated with some alien creature and gave birth to this album. Much like the way I felt last year about The Flaming Lips' Embryonic, I wasn't impressed the first time I heard it. But with repeated listens, it felt like all the weird space-rock puzzle pieces started to fall in to place and I realized I was hearing something unique and rad. Yeah, I said rad--my ultimate adjective. It is befitting of this strange mix of rock, disco, psychedelic, and other unidentified elements. It works. With time. It'll get ya. Or it will possibly abduct you.
The Non-Rob Review: Here

Gorilla Manor by Local Natives (Frenchkiss)

The Quick Take: In this slightly sad age of the digital download, do you ever download so many albums that you end up forgetting about one you should have given a little more than the requisite ten minutes? Well that happened to me with Local Natives and this album. I downloaded it in the spring and didn't get back around to it until my iPod decided to randomly play standout track "Airplanes". What I discovered was a true gem hidden under far too many wasted downloads this year. A cross between the percussive might of The Dodos and the harmonic vocal excellence of Fleet Foxes, Local Natives offer a carefully constructed musical mix of rock, pop, anthems, and even a few muscular tribal beats they don't mind pounding you ever so gently with. And they're so damn young, these kids--I can't help but be excited about their future. In a crowded field of "indie" (yuck) rock, these guys are standouts. A hope-inspiring debut. Better late than never.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Transference by Spoon (Merge)

The Quick Take: Spoon is one of those bands whose albums share most of the same musical elements that will never (and should never) change. But the funny thing about them is that some of their albums will grab you right away (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Girls Can Tell) while others will reveal their quality over an extended period of time (Kill the Moonlight). Transference falls in to the latter category and grew on me as time went by. This album is a bit rougher around the edges and is less afraid to "explore" for lengthier periods of time instrumentally than previous efforts, but the clever beats and lyrics that dare you to contemplate all worth contemplating are still quite in your face. The music still goes down easy and is way beyond satsifying. You just don't fill up quite as fast.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Expo 86 by Wolf Parade (Sub Pop)

The Quick Take: While I hate the perpetuation of the term "indie" with a passion, it's a reality I must accept like the budget deficit or the Kardashians. But if I accept that term and its "inhabitants", one of my favorite of these is the great Wolf Parade. They've always been "indie" while being unafraid to punch you in the gut or rock your face off. If they took anything up a notch on Expo 86, it is the "rawk". This is without a doubt their heaviest--though not to be mistaken for abrasive--effort to date. The guitars and the drums at the right volume can shake that seldom-shaken-these-days chest cavity of yours--all while delivering the same melodic, sweeping, epic songs that suggest that everything is falling down around you while still somehow offering you hope. There's talk that this may be their last album and that would be tragic. Indie rock NEEDS Wolf Parade. Probably a lot more than Wolf Parade needs indie rock.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Plastic Beach by Gorillaz (EMI)

The Quick Take: The album starts with the kind of gorgeous string arrangement befitting an Oscar-worthy epic and somehow seamlessly transitions in to a thumping groove of bass and beats--and the sound of Snoop Dogg. And it works. Even Snoop Dogg sounds great and less cartoonish than he has in ages--which is ironic considering Gorillaz was conceived as an animated, "virtual" hip-hop project. Plastic Beach is more luminous and less menacing than its predecessors, but retains its sonic power with ease. Other guests on the album include everyone from Lou Reed to Bobby Womack to Mos Def to Mick Jones. These seemingly ill-fitting parts maddeningly fit thanks to the constant undercurrent supplied by the great Damon Albarn--known in a previous life as the front-man for Brit-pop pioneers Blur. The album has beats that won't quit and contains everything from Albarn's beloved tribal rhythms to entrancing electronics that are both hypnotic and joyful. Get your copy and start grooving as soon as humanly possible.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Melted by Ty Segall (Goner)

The Quick Take: I hate pretty much anything that's done for the sake of itself. Except maybe arguing for arguing's sake. That's just fun. But in music, I hate noise just for noise's sake and thus, have hated most anything termed as "noise rock" for a long, long time. This is not to say, however, that I don't like great rock music with some noise and distortion thrown in--as long as it is noise with a purpose. By that standard, give me more, more, more. And Ty Segall has found a balance I absolutely love with Melted--an album with some creative uses of "noise", but that never come at the cost of strong songwriting and great pop sensibility. Something about the noise and the "coolness" of this collection of songs lends itself to the post-argument car excursion you simply must take to retain what sanity you have left. Segall uses some rough tools at times--but always, always with a purpose. In many ways, Melted is the biggest surprise--and one of my favorite discoveries of--2010.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

Lisbon by The Walkmen (Fat Possum)

The Quick Take: Much like Spoon's aforementioned Transference, this was an album whose effects weren't immediately felt. But as I began to feel them, I was moved. A myriad of moods abound. Alternating between easy-going lamentation (album-opener "Juveniles"), frantic desperation ("Angela Surf City") and spiritual discovery (the hypnotic and beautiful "Blue As Your Blood"), Lisbon takes hold of you in the way that it reveals the many sides of lead vocalist and lyricist Hamilton Leithauser's psyche--and shakes you in the way that the music begins to reveal the many sides of your own psyche. While not as immediately touching and delicate as 2008's nearly perfect You & Me, this latest effort continues The Walkmen's string of memorable and significant contributions to sweeping, vintage-valuing rock music.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

$ by Mark Sultan (Last Gang)

The Quick Take: If you've read this blog regularly (my favoritest of you), you know by now that Mark Sultan is the "BBQ" in The King Khan & BBQ Show and one of my favorite musicians working today. He's got a voice--as I'm sure I've said before--that sounds like it's straight out of a time capsule from the early 60's. And while that has always lent itself well to the rollicking doo-wop he's best known for, Sultan sought with this album to add several additional dimensions. Sultan weaves a myriad of instrumental sounds, uneven percussive time signatures, and a little psychedelia in to this time-tested mix on $ to create a challenging, but ultimately rewarding set of songs. At first, you can't figure out what the chaos is intended to create, but this album is the sound of music falling apart all around you and then being put back together piece by piece. Sultan's awe-inspiring voice never gets too lost in the shuffle and he finds a way to command the chaos like a quirky mad scientist/wizard who is completely in control of your little rock 'n' roll tempest.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

The Monitor by Titus Andronicus (XL)

The Quick Take: The overwhelming feeling I get every time I listen to Titus Andronicus is that I'm listening to more than just rock music. I'm actually listening to a mission statement. And typically that statement involves a clear delineation between an "us" and a "them" and that the time for sitting on the sidelines and taking it is over. And that we've all lived for this day whether we know it or not. The Monitor uses thematic elements of the U.S. Civil War as a backdrop for these statements--seamlessly drawing emotional comparisons between the sentiments of now and then. The laziest observation I continue to read in reviews is that while it's a concept album, "it's not actually about the Civil War". But that's missing the point. The point is that the Civil War is ABOUT US--specifically the way that we as Americans are prone to division and how necessary conflict becomes to flush out those of us who are holding back the continually moving needle of progress. The album is full of indignation and anger, but it's also full of inspiration and makes me want to go out and change the world--even if I have to bruise a few faces to do it.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

High Violet by The National (4AD)

The Quick Take: I run out creative things to say about The National, but I never seem to run out of enthusiasm for them as musicians, performers, or artists. High Violet continues the calculated brooding of men who are all too aware of the dark parts of your heart and whose sole mission is to add a soundtrack to it. But unlike previous efforts such as Boxer, there's a tangible sense that The National are trying to make the sound, the sweep, and the scope of this whole thing tangibly bigger. Bigger strings and drums, more horns, haunting backing vocal tracks--The National feel like they've added an extra layer on this album. Songs like "England", "Bloodbuzz, Ohio", and "Conversation 16" are epic in this way, but the album never loses its intimate feel. "Runaway" and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" keep you right there--in the moment. It's a strange symmetry The National have perfected here, but one whose impact is felt in both ways that validate and tear out our hearts all at once.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

The Rob Album of the Year

Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter (4AD)

The Quick Take: My friend Jake introduced me to this album one night while we were at this bar we don't visit often enough. I say we don't visit it often enough because they let us plug our iPods in and drink to our own playlist. Because Jake is a much more "plugged in" and well-connected music blogger than I am, he got an advanced copy of Halcyon Digest and plugged it in one night. And all I can say is that I had "that" feeling. The one I get when I hear something and know immediately that it's special and it's different and I'll probably love it forever. I had heard of Deerhunter, but never actually HEARD them. When the album arrived at my apartment, I was happy that my intitial affection wasn't due to the scotch I was drinking that night. From the track opener "Earthquake" and its slow-building wall of dense sound to the precise and mesmerizing guitars of "Desire Lines" to the pop mastery and E-Street Band-esque saxophone of "Coronado", front-man Bradford Cox and his bandmates created an album that is creative and unique while still remaining universally enthralling. The album haunts me in the way that an album by a band whose members are all dead does, but yet never gets me down. Halcyon Digest retains a mystique that is retained effortlessly and an identity that sets it apart without qualification.

The Non-Rob Review: Here

UPDATE: Due to "popular demand" (relative, liberal use of that phrase), I've graciously decided to add a playlist highlighting one great track from each of the fifteen albums highlighted above--none of which have been included on previous playlist. I think. I'm not that diligent at checking, but I'm pretty sure I'm right about this. Enjoy!

Now go forth and invest a little piece of your soul in some good music, Kids. You have all the tools you need now. As always, I look forward to your feedback, your insults, and your general apprehension over everything about this entry and my blog so that I can sit back and laugh at you. And love you. And marvel how we still--in so many ways--are doing this thing together. Good riddance, 2010. But thanks for the tunes.

Playlist of the Week: 2010 Favoritism

2010-12-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

Picking twelve has its pros and cons, but overall it's a pretty good number. No, I am not comparing myself to Jesus. Yes, I believe I have a God-given talent for making great playlists. Probably as a consolation for not making me gifted at math. Or matching clothes.

Part 1. Part A. The beginning. Maybe just the preface. Or the beginning of the end of 2010. I can't figure out how I want to start this, but since I just type in an akward/sexy stream of consciousness manner, I suppose that it will all take care of itself. Part 1/A/beginning/preface of what you ask? Ah yes, this entry is the beginning/introduction of the highly anticipated M.J.R.M.B.Y.I.M.2010 (I'll let you figure that acronym out all by yourself. I have faith in you. Ish.)--as well as my effort to fulfill my contractual (in my head) obligation to crank out another bravely-sculpted playlist. The anticipation of my year end best-ofs/harsh judgements is literally growing at about the same rate as the number of your Facebook friends who are changing their profile pictures to pictures of their kids because they think anybody else but them cares*. Literally. So with that sobering scientific conclusion in mind, what are we to do about your great need to rock, my friends?

Now I know for many of you, this is the beginning of that slightly sad post-Christmas afterglow. The decorations are coming down, the copies of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation are being put away, the resentment over the inappropriate comment/gesture your mother/significant other made at dinner/Christmas Eve church service while drunk/high is finally subsiding--and for reasons you can't quite grasp, you're feeling a bit empty. But have no fear, the man of your dreams if he looked like Jared Leto/George Clooney/insert any Twilight actor here is here to pull that proverbial Red Ryder 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle from behind that desk in the corner of your heart's desire. I give you... so lovingly and tenderly, my favorite dozen songs of 2010--highlighted in some of their own words...in all their heartbreak, humor, weirdness, straightforwardness, vagueness--and beauty. Oh yeah, this is art and absolutely not a cheap way of me getting out of writing more original content for this entry. And yeah, there's still a playlist, too. Be back soon with M.J.R.M.B.Y.I.M.2010. Until then, plug in your ear phones and listen real good like.

"It's always the same as always. Sad and tongue tied. It's got a memory and refrain..."/"No nothin' was planned. You just can't help yourself. Some people are so easily shuffled and dealt."/"Life rolled us over like a town car...Bruised up and busted to the ground...The Lord came down and said to me...'Throw off your worries and be at peace...'"/"So I had to make up my mind. And hold it for a while. I would not just leave you without a kiss. But I guess there must come a time. When there's no more tears to cry."/"And we can no longer afford. Waiting for someone to lift this terrible swift sword. In our basements, we all look so bored. We've never seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."/Water moccasins crawlin' through my "Hell yeah!". I know I'm all alone."/"Words will break us down. Where you can't make a sound. And tear you along every different line. And spit it away."/"In my heart I feel so high. I wanna know the answers why. I ask so many questions they let me go. They hang up the telephone."/"All I know is that I think I know. So they can't live forever. Playing games and choosing sides. 'Til all that's left to do is go berserk./"Don't call your mom to tell her I'm a demon. She'll say you're wrong and end up screaming. She knows I'm strong. And that I won't say goodbye."/"And sing your songs. Sing them all night baby. If it's out of key, well nobody's perfect. And you don't know how to stop it all . You just don't know how to stop it at all . And you don't know how to stop it. But morning will turn, turn everything back to gold."/"Put an ocean and a river between everybody else. Between everything, yourself, and home. Put an ocean and a river. Between everything, yourself, and home."

*My friend Julie is an exception to the snide comments about my other friends I so casually insulted since she just gave birth to twins and the sheer physical exertion of that feat alone warrants just about any form of boasting she cares for.

Playlist of the Week: Winterlifer

2010-12-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not gonna lie. The idea of winter--like many other things--sure seemed a lot more fun when I was a kid.

I've always been fascinated by the way that people who listen to music seem much more inclined to listen to what FITS their mood rather than what might ALTER their mood. This is not an original or groundbreaking observation on my part, but it intrigues me nonetheless. When we're sad and brokenhearted, do we listen to classic happy music like The Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" or Digital Underground's complex, joyous masterpiece "The Humpty Dance"? I mean, that would make sense on so many levels (do you all realize the lyrical genius of "The Humpty Dance"?), but yet most of us resort to finding some sad bastard music that spins a tale of even more gut-wrenching misery than we're currently feeling. But why? So we somehow feel better in comparison? I used to think that that might be the case, but it is rare that listening to sad music when I'm sad has any positive effect other than to increase the likelihood that I bust out the scotch a little earlier in the evening. And apparently "conventional therapy" claims that that is also not considered a "positive effect". Oh well, I'll leave that to the experts.

Either way, I've been in love three times in my life and there was an album for each of those breakups/disappointments I dove in to shortly thereafter for an extended period of time and I'm pretty sure none of this music would be sanctioned by the APA.

1996: Pinkerton by Weezer: Great album, but full of heartbreaking teen angst at its finest/worst--widely considered the breakthrough of "emo" music. My God, I was SO emo back then. Surprised my mom didn't poison my food during this period.

2005: Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams: The title pretty much sums it up. Luckily, I wasn't living with my mom by this time or she would have definitely poisoned my food.

2010: High Violet by The National: Great album by a great band. But this is the kind of music that with too much exposure might cause me to do something horrifyingly rash and negative. Like move back to Dallas. I've been able to measure my relative recovery based on how much less I listen to this album now compared to a couple months ago.

So we cope how? By trying to drown our misery in musical misery? I mean, when we're happy we don't listen to sad music to try and make us less happy. And why? Because being happy is the tits, that's why! So what's up with the sad music?

I find the only other similar music preference correlation I've ever caught on to is what I refer to in my own terms as "winter music" or "cold music". It's the type of music that may either be the symptom of or solution to the season. This music either makes me colder or I somehow find warmth in the fact that they REMIND me of cold while it is actually cold outside even though I may actually be somewhere warm listening to this music but all of that is counter-intuitive until I remember the way that it seems completely normal for me to listen to sad music when I'm sad. You betcha.

Again, there's a dark gray sky out there you wish was like London but is probably more like Cleveland. A sharp whirl of wind that snaps you awake and yet makes you crave slumber the way bears do. And for some of us there's snow. So much snow. And for most of us, the fun of the snow has gone the way of our childhoods and a belief in Santa Claus and the hope for a kid like me to someday have the chance to fight on the ice planet of Hoth along with Luke Skywalker. Some songs fit our mood--maybe even reinforce our mood. Cold songs remind us of what is just beyond that door--all of the frigid elements and the reality that there's very little difference between being one of the lucky ones and being one of the ones stuck out there. Beach music, warm music, none of it seems that appealing in December and January when there is no logical reason it shouldn't. But logic eludes us more than we care to admit, eh?

So for you all, a dozen of my winter songs that just make sense for me to wrap myself in this time of year. Even the ones that warm me up on this list are still unmistakeably songs whose identity is entrenched in the winter for reasons I can't fully explain. The opening notes of "Everything In Its Right Place" are some of the warmest I've ever heard, but the song remains a winter piece for me. And maybe, just maybe, it's because that warmth would be wasted on us during the summer, just as the heartbreak of sad music and its mystifying empathetic powers would be wasted on happy listeners. Maybe the answer is that music, like God or "fate" or destiny gives us what we need when we need it--even when we don't or can't get it.

Quick Music Jerk: Indiandoowopabilly, The Flaming Lips, and Upcoming Greatnesses

2010-12-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

Indiandoowopabilly. Traditional Indian music mixed in with doo-wop rock and rockabilly. Indiandoowopabilly.

1. For those of my readers (now that there are apparently more than one of you) who consider themselves somewhat musically adventurous, may I recommend one of this year's most unique albums, Curry Up, It's the Tandoori Knights ('YES, click on the link to hear samples' says Rob in Montgomery Burns voice), by--you guessed it--The Tandoori Knights. Yeah, it pretty much sounds like the ridiculous caption above--and you have to admit without having heard it that that sounds somewhat intriguing, eh? Maybe just a bit? All I can tell you is that it is a fascinating little record. Using all the core instruments of rock but with a sitar thrown in as a foundational undercurrent, Curry Up meshes the traditional with the even MORE traditional--as in traditional Indian music structures. Now I am not Indian and don't claim to know a thing about traditional Indian music--I only know that I've made out with an Indian girl before and I bet she does know something about traditional Indian music and I'm sure that's somehow relevant here. What I also know is that this album sounds like plenty I've heard while simultaneously sounding like nothing I've ever heard. Some songs are sitar driven, some are hard rocking drivers, and others are a mix of multiple styles. Arish Ahmad Khan--better known as King Khan (one of my rock 'n' roll leaders and someone I have a slightly unhealthy man-crush on)--has teamed up with another Montreal under-the-radar rock staple, Bloodshot Bill (I couldn't make up a name like that), to form the Tandoori Knights. Both men strum and strain and laugh through this undeniably fun album while still remaining faithful to a particular concept throughout the album of meshing two seemingly incongruous musical styles. The album grows continually intriguing with each listen and while not for most of you (you probably know who you are, and that's okay), it's worth a listen for those of you always on the lookout for something a little quirky. Or something for your next Indian-themed sock hop. Whatever the case may be.

2. For those of you who live outside of my beloved Oklahoma City area, you may not have heard about the annual tradition that is the greatness of The Flaming Lips playing a hometown show (yes, Oklahoma City is their hometown) every New Year's Eve. I've attended this confetti-filled, man-in-giant bubble, smoke monster of a show the last two years and have never walked away disappointed. If there was ever a band whose stage show was designed for a specific night, it might just be the Lips. The combination of all those effects, the energy of the music, and the overall spectacle makes for a night of grandeur befitting the best New Year's Eve party you'll ever attend. Even if you don't particularly like their music, I challenge you to walk away from one of their shows without having had a ton of fun. To add to an already epic showcase last year, the Lips performed a live cover of Pink Floyd's seminal Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. This year, the band announced that in addition to their normal show, they'll be playing what many (including myself) consider to be their definitive masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin, in its entirety. The announcement created such a buzz that floor tickets for the show sold out in less than thirty minutes (while in previous years, tickets were slightly easier to come by). Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones and got my tickets early and you should all know that I keep weapons handy in my house and am also moving said tickets to a new secret location every three hours. Just sayin'. Anyway, if you have a chance to make this show (and yes, there are still ways to get tickets), I can't recommend this enough. Exploding high five with a giant, oversized hand!

3. This dumb little blog is gonna be somewhat prolific in the next few weeks. I mean hey, it's my gift to you in the spirit of the holiday season. Three more life-changing, perspective-altering playlists are coming your way starting in the next couple of days. The third of these playlists will be my favorite dozen songs of 2010 and that will be followed up by my annual, end of year, reason you all fight through each day of your lives and work and get out of bed, "Year in Music" feature. It'll include my favorite albums of the year (the best to me at least) along with another playlist as well as the finely-crafted wordsmithery you've come to expect from me. Please, kids, try to stay focused on the rest of your lives until then.

Also, while you're at it, check out some of the quite strong links over there to the right--especially the link to The Spy FM, simply one of the best music stations in the world. For those of you not familiar, the Spy is a truly independent station with tons of favorites along with plenty you've never heard before and will never hear on regular radio stations in this day and age (for my Dallas friends, think of The Edge before it was bought out and turned in to another douche-rock station). A great place to discover discoverworthy tunes. Also, check out my Pandora station at your own risk. But if The Killers come up on the playlist, I can assure you that that is ALL Pandora, ok? Finally, I have some supremely talented friends with blogs who are way better at this than me that you might want to check out (also over there on the right). Alright, enough with all the plugs. I assure you that no one is paying me for those and I can triple assure you no one pays me for this. It's all about my borderline inappropriate love for each and every one of you. See you real real soon soon.

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Overlooked Perspectives

2010-12-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

Like sports, it's important to remember that music is just a game. And your kid doesn't think you're nearly as cool as others do.

The above picture may be one of the greatest music-related pictures I've come across in some time. I mean, it's certainly not as iconic as all those Beatles pictures we're so used to seeing. You know the ones. Currently, we are all being endlessly inundated with a bunch of old black and white photos of The Beatles so that we can be once again reminded that A) The Beatles were a great band that we should care about (as if we're ever allowed to forget this) and B) that their entire catalog is now available on iTunes! I bet you didn't know that last fact because Apple only reminds us about a thousand times a day when they're not making me feel like less of a man for not having an iPad or the new iPhone4. But I digress.

Some pictures of bands or musicians aren't quite so iconic--but still may be more poignant. Case in point: The above picture is of Matt Berninger and his beautiful--albeit visibly upset--daughter, Isla. Matt Berninger is one of my favorite musicians and the lead singer and songwriter of one of my favoritest bands in all the known blue big world, The National. I had the good fortune to see The National in concert twice this year and one of those times (I can't remember which one), Mr. Berninger commented to the audience that he was really, quite a happy man living a happy life. The undeniably sad, dark, though beautiful songs, he claimed, portrayed a misery that was self-contained. He smiled and sipped his wine while saying this without a hint of irony or sarcasm. The guy really seemed to mean it and the ongoing joking banter between he and his bandmates suggested that despite the ultra-serious tone of their work, the artists behind that work don't take themselves quite so seriously.

So I suppose this is one of those "perspective" moments I need every once in a while--a concept that goes overlooked and ignored about the things, the games, the art that I, and we, all dig so much. Ultimately, there are people--real people--behind all of this "stuff". And while some of them have really epic stories that make for tabloid and VH1 Behind the Music fodder, some of them are married dudes with a mortgage, a wife, and a kid who isn't remotely impressed by their dad's high ranking on year end "best of" album lists or hero worship from jerks like me. Somehow, that picture says it all and helps me to keep the music I love and find myself emotionally tugged by in the proper light.

That picture represents in some ways everything that I want out of life. And no, it's not to be the well-dressed, ultra-talented lead singer of a critically-acclaimed band (not that I'm not working on it). Ultimately, I want to have the "incovenience"--dare I say the freedom--that comes with responsibility. A beautiful child I love and who loves me even if they're screaming their head off at me at the most inopportune time. A wife that I love and who loves me through thick and thin. And yeah, I want a life of purpose and a life where I can live right and do right by others and be the man God wants me to be. And of course I want to do all of this while listening to great music and getting my facial hair right and traveling the world and being great at my job and wearing some half-way decent clothes that fit my body which is slowly improving while keeping my blood pressure down so that I have the chance to see Kevin Durant and the Thunder eventually win the title.

I'm gonna do it. Watch me. Just as soon as I get some lunch. I'm on it. Swear. So in the spirit of today's most likely annoyingly positive blog that no doubt has you punching the air and/or fist-pumping for your good buddy Rob, I'd like to offer a dozen overlooked gems from my collection by a dozen of my favorite dozen bands/artists. These are songs that aren't singles, aren't generally that well known, and will never be on a "best of" collection of theirs. But they're songs I appreciate and try not to neglect remembering. So don't forget how much you love me and this blog. And I won't forget that there's a good life somewhere down the road. Somewhere. In the general area. I heard from a guy who knows a guy that something relatively decent is waiting out there for me. And you. In all likelihood.

Playlist of the Week: Reconsiderationing

2010-11-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

They tell you it's important not to just hear, but to listen. So I became a better listener. Then, when I listened better, I wondered if I was actually hearing correctly...

Such has been a cycle in my life. And a worrisome one at that. I mean, your predicament goes from being one of mental laziness to an outright potential physical disability and then finally to a case of you just actually being an idiot. It plagues our relationships, it plagues our professional work, and it can certainly plague our music listening experience--especially if you get to that third stage and realize that what you thought you were enjoying in the lyrics or what you thought it was envoking was all wrong to begin with.

Maybe "wrong" isn't really the word. Something about music goes beyond the words to make you feel what you feel. I mean, I never really knew the correct words to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" when I was a kid, but I still feel approximately the same thing after having learned the actual lyrics that I felt then. Which is pretty much a combination of Voltron and a bald eagle soaring through the sky.

But there's still just that part of you that feels like a bit of a fraud when you find out that either A) as was aforementioned, you had been completely wrong about the words to a song you love or B) the song's ACTUAL meaning was quite different than the ASSIGNED meaning you had given it when you were saying to yourself, "Yeah man! This is an exact reflection of MY situation and MY heartbreak and MY longing and MY desire and--you know--pretty much the song I'd write and sing to everyone right now--especially her--if I had, you know, any musical and/or songwriting ability!" And that's why for some of us, it goes beyond an appreciation of music or even a conventional love of it. These people are my personal conveyors of truth in a world where I am unable to shout it myself from a mountain top! Yes Baby, Neil Diamond says the sweet clean words of my soul that I just can't quite get out of that stupid gut of mine. You're welcome.

So when you find out you were wrong, it makes you question whether any of your sentiment was valid or that important in the first place. The first song on this week's playlist is a beautiful love song by the criminally underrated and currently on indefinite hiatus Phantom Planet called "By the Bed" which falls tragically in to this category for me. The song contains a dialogue between a man and a woman about their relationship. The man who finds himself holding on for dear life and unable to let go. The woman who responds with an unequivocal rebuff to these pleas that "there are things we cannot save, no matter how hard we try". Now as you can imagine, I've FELT this song. I've lived it. I've cringed and screamed the lyrics while driving aimlessly through the overcast city. We all have songs like that for us, right?

Well today while doing a little research for my blog (since I had already decided this song was going to top my newest playlist), I watched a video where Phantom Planet's lead singer and the writer of this song, Alex Greenwald, told an audience before playing it that this was a song about an interaction with his dying grandmother. Umm, ex-squeeze me? Baking powder? But this song is part of the greatest hits collection of my perpetual and highly important heartbreak! Who the HELL do you think you are making this about your grandmother???? Your GRANDMOTHER??? I was in denial like Preston from Can't Hardly Wait when he was told that Barry Manilow's "Mandy" was actually about a beloved pet dog and not about a forlorn lover.

After a bit of pacing around my living room and a couple of re-listens, I calmed down a bit. I mean, the song was still beautiful, but just slightly different. And I worry that by even telling you this that you all won't be truly able to truly appreciate the greatness of the song. But ultimately, the song is still about the same big picture things it's always been about. Love. Loss. The frustration when the other party can't or won't give you a say in the matter. And whether I'm hearing right or listening intently or doing both, I've figured out that the truth is still the truth. The music will ultimately mean what we really, really want it to mean. So I will still reflect on heartbreak that has nothing to do with the death of my grandmother each time I listen because I can and because music affords me that opportunity. I suppose the most vital thing is that while hearing what we want to hear, we also hear what we really NEED to hear, even if it wasn't necessarily what we were meant to hear. Having said that, I plan to spend the remainder of my weekend examining the psychological and social implications of Digital Underground's "Humpty Dance". Good day to you.

Playlist of the Week: A Dozen Chicks

2010-11-11T20:04:00.000-08:00

Because it's fine art, these chicks are classy. Just like I like 'em.

There's a lot on mind these days. Like the fact that with every episode of "The Office" watched, I grow sadder with each day we move closer to losing Steve Carrell. There's work and the knowledge that I should really be in bed right about now since I'll need to depart my place at around 415 AM tomorrow. There's the mild excitement that while my abs can't be described as a "situation", there's definitely a "mild occurrence" developing somewhere in that area. Possibly. And of course, there's women. One woman. The concept of women. Lots of women. My life as it relates or doesn't relate to a woman moving forward and who she is or who she was. I don't know. I'm a heterosexual, thirty-one year old man with an improving abdominal "situation" (giggle), a slightly upgraded wardrobe, and a sudden relationship status change. So. You know. Woman. Women. Whatever.

Having said all of that, I'm at that stage just before "full rebound" and right after "disorienting sadness" where the obvious next step is to make a playlist of all your favorite songs with a girl's name in the title. It's science. I've consulted professionals about this, I assure you. This method is found in many important books by authors whose names I can't pronounce because they're so brilliant. So come with me on the continued therapeutic journey toward recovery and love and chicks and inner peace. By listening. Carefully. Lovingly. Softly. Like the way chicks do.

Playlist of the Week: Airport Commuter

2010-11-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

If anyone ever asks you, "But why?" Just tell them because Rob said so. It works every time that it does. And that's a promise.

Live from Louisville, it's Rob! Me! Guy who speaks of himself in the third person but yet still paints a touching and lovable figure in the little sparse universe of your heart. I'm at the airport right now (SDF, for those of you are down with the "codes"). I'm having one of those months where home is wherever I am and it's usually at a gate closest to a power outlet. I wish that someone could plug me in for a bit because I must admit to dragging a bit. But in the new world I suddenly find myself in, I have no choice but to forge on and keep moving. As I am one who does his best to utilize his iPod not only for entertainment, but also as a means of avoiding conversation with overly "friendly" fellow travelers, I choose to listen and listen hard to all that is good at this moment. And alas, the glorious return of the Playlist of the Week for your edification and my time-filling. This week is a bit of sad, a bit of happy, a bit of relevant, a bit of random. Don't read too much in to them, but don't fail to read a little in to them. I wouldn't want you to think I'm just throwing this all together. No, no. I simply care too much about whatever this blog is all about to do something like that. I'll be coming to an airport near you this month in all likelihood. Next stop: DFW on the way home to OKC. Before driving back to Dallas. You'll just have to trust me on this one. I can feel your faith. Think a good or bad thought. Say a little prayer. Drop me a line. But most importantly, find some of this music if it hasn't found you yet.

Song of the Day: "Pobody's Nerfect"
Artist: Wolf Parade
Album: EXPO 86
Lyric of Possible Relevance:

"And sing your songs
Sing them all night baby
If it's out of key well nobody's perfect
And you don't know how to stop it all
You just don't know how to stop it at all
And you don't know how to stop it
But morning will turn turn everything back to gold."