Reading 4 books at once...

I just finally finished "Full of Life" by John Fante, one of my favorite authors. It's a 1950's autobiographical piece on when his wife was pregnant. I thought I would feel the same connection and validation with this book as I did when I read his coming of age books (when I was coming of age [?]). But it was mostly just about his Catholic guilt and his issues with his own father. Selfish/self-indulgent. Very disappointed.

So, even though I am a super slow and non-committal reader, somehow I've ended up reading 4 books at once. I am reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy about a father and son walking across the US after a nuclear holocaust (sort of a futuristic western!!!). I've also loaded the audio version of "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac on my iPod. To my advisory class (a.k.a. 25 wasted minutes) I am using the time to read "Fahrenheit 451" by Bradbury to them. Lastly, I am reading "The Expectant Father" by Armin A. Brott. It's terrific, but it's chronological (with the development of the pregnancy) so I'm all caught up right now and haven't been reading it really.

Top 5 Neil Young Albums

I'm on a post-barbershop-visit high and got motivated to do a Neil Young blog.

1. Rust Never Sleeps
This is like "Neil Young: for dummies". It introduced me to, and got me hooked on Neil Young. The first half is just Neil by himself. The second half is all Crazy Horse! This remains one of my favorite records to date. Lyrically, it really helped me get through a time of lost friendship in my life. Thanks Neil!

2. Harvest
C'mon, it's got some radio classics like "Old Man", "Heart of Gold", great stuff. And he howls "Are you ready for the country? Because it's time to go!" Go where? I don't know, but I am ready and I wanna go wherever the 'country' is when you put it like that.

3. After the Gold Rush
Just great. Reminds me of Scott Lehman when I hear it. Especially when Neil sings, "When you dance... oooh, oooh, I can really love."



4. Live at Massey Hall 1971
Got it a couple weeks ago and I'm arready wearing it out. Great version of "Ohio"- way better than the Crosby ,Stills, and Nash (yech!) version. It's just a flawless performance. I told you before, I had to pull over the car the first time I heard it. Truly moved.

5. Trans
Neil's synthesizer album. Ballsy. Lost a lot of fans on this one, but not me, Neil. I get lost in this album in a weird psychadelic way. I remember working on the house late during cold nights listening to this and Jay Farrar's synthesizer album called "Sebastapol". Arright.

Danielson: a Familie Movie

DANIELSON is someone who I'd seen at shows and festivals like almost 10 years ago. Friends had their records. Yesterday, Jill and I watched a doc about them called Danielson: a Familie Movie. Great film.

You know... He's an artistic genius, much like Daniel Johnston, who I've posted about here (and who also appears on this film). He's crazy and savantish. Eccentric. Odd. A true artist. Danielson is this weird kind of christian commune-type kid who made all his redheaded siblings be in his band where he shouts and squeals about schitzophrenically Jesus-related things. And he made them dress up in nurses outfits!

Christians should watch this because there are some really interesting spiritual issues brought up.

Artists should watch this because there is great visual and audible art. Plus a lot of points about where spirituality and art should/shouldn't separate.

Sufjan Stevens fans (still don't know how to pronounce) should watch this film. People think "Soof" is the genius of the world. In this film, you get to see him being taught how to hit a tomtom drum by a 12 year old. Sufjan Stevens got his musical start in the Danielson Familie. And I think Sufjan fans will get gain some perspective on his origins through this film. I just think a lot of hip musical trends right now should be researched and what might seem totally original, like the Arcade Fire's shouting and "family" image or Sufjan Stevens' current bands' costumes (pictured at the right) can be traced to influences like Danielson.

WATCH THE TRAILER!!!!!!!


Watch a Music Video!!!!!!

You can't win?

OK. Arright, here's some CDs I've gotten recently. My reactions as well.
(by the way, the new gmail/google version or interface of Blogger really sucks.)

Dolorean "You Can't Win"
This is a band that Keith turned me on to. Countryish. Slowcore-ish. Layed back. Kinda like if John Denver was singing while Neil Young was pickin'. This disc starts of with a really droney piano song that has frontman, Al James singing, "You can't win." ad nausium. This has a uniquely coincidental parrallel to the new Son Volt album, which starts with a droney piano number with Jay Farrar (swooon!) singing, "Feels like drivin' 'round in a slow hearse" over and over and over. They just pummel you with a bummer. Really an interesting way to start off an album. He continues on in a similar tone.
I drink one bottle of wine each night. *****OR***** I feel myself descending
To help me get over you.**************************Like I often do.
I've become quite fond of what ********************I get the feeling there's no winning
One bottle can do. ********************************When I can't Afford to lose.
Pretty good, really. But not really good. Know what I mean, Vern?

Neil Young "Live at Massey Hall 1971"
I turned on KFOG while driving my dad's truck late at night a while ago and they were playing this entire album/show. I had to pull the truck over at one point, I was so moved. This is just a flawless performance. Every note just has magic in it. You know when you're doing something really well, like REALLY well, and you think, "Well, it's any second now that I'm gonna screw this up!" and you usually do. Like a tight rope. Running on a ballance beam. Frogger. But Neil never does throughout this entire Live show. Just him and a guitar. Or him and a piano.
"Afray-yay-yay-yaid! A man feels afraid!"
Bone chilling.......

Son Volt "The Search"
Fantastic. You know it. Love it more with each listen. Not really any mixtape-worthy tracks here. Just a fan pleaser. I'm not gonna bore you, faithful readership, with any more Son Volt loverants. It's just back to what I said in a previous post about what makes a truly great album: "If what you hated on the initial listen becomes what you love after some educated listens, it's just great." Or something like that. And lyrically, he captures the essence of dissolusion with a post 911, post Hussein, post VT America.

Wayne Everett "Kingsqueens"
Crap. This is crap. Man, I had high hopes. This is a rare disc from the frontman of a great band called the Lassie Foundation (one of my longtime favorites). He did a solo record a few years back and I have one track on a compilation and now I finally get the record and it's total poo. Maybe Dolorean's right....... ..............You can't win.

Marlon Brando, Pochahontas, and Me (SON VOLT show review)

What do you do when your favorite band plays your favorite Neil Young song?
a. Try not to pee yourself
b. Hoot and hollar
c. Sing along unabashedly
d. All of the above

Ever happen to you? OK, just me. Arright, so I thought I'd sit down and blog about the show the other night.

So I went to see Son Volt and Magnolia Electric Co. in Petaluma with my friend Peter Stanley and a friend of his on Saturday (the friend hated Son Volt! OMG!). Magnolia's set was forgetable- the band was missing members and lacked the energy of their shows (of course, the friend loved it).

When Son Volt came on, they crunched through almost their entire new album straight away, which was energetic and full and fresh. By the way, I've come to love the new album.

Their reworkings of old songs fell a little flat. You see, Son Volt's original members (the guys that did the first three albums) were multi-instrumentalists and there was lap steel, pedal steel, banjo, and violin when they played. This version of Son Volt is totally rocking and electric and they even turn the slow violin/acoustic songs into elaborate rockers with big flashy guitar solos and the like. I'm not so much into that.

But when they played "Drown", the song that made me fall in love with son Volt back in like 96, it was pretty dope! Then their encore was ah'ight, and I thought I might leave semi-disappointed, but then they started playing "Pochahontas" (by Neil Young- and that's the song that made me fall in love with Neil). I was floored and I probably embarassed myself with my behavior (ever see that footage of the crowd at the Ed Sullivan show where the Beatles played and the girls are like screaming and pulling their hair out and crying?)

So, not as good as when Jill and I saw 'em last year. But I've said this before: Even Jay Farrar's worst is still better than most peoples' best. And it wasn't his worst, it was just ah'ight.

Listening to: Mates of State "Bring it Back", Paul Simon "Surprise", This American Life, and a couple CDs that a co-worker lent me that I don't like so much.

Hella psyched

to see Son Volt on Saturday!

listening to: Wreckless Eric, Son Volt's new one, All Songs Considered podcast, ipod on random again.

Lost Marbles

Ever since we moved into our house, we have found and kept many keepsakes left over from the original owners. This started when we began finding bullets that the lady had taken to hiding in little places around the house , or saving and restoring original doors, re-using original bricks- things tlike that (we didn't keep the bullets).

But one of the most intruiging things has been the marbles. The previous owners had children that they would have raised in this house in the 50's or 60's. Two boys, I think. I've met one, now in his 60's. Since we moved in, we began finding little marbles anytime the earth in the back yard was disturbed and they seem to be marbles that these two kids must have played with in our back yard 50 years ago.

My current house project is building a brick patio in our back yard, which first requires me to dig out about 6 inches of hard clay off the top (double that depth after the soil has been tilled). I'm borrowing what is like a tractor without a seat from my father-in-law, and as I rototill the ground, I check for marbles. Yesterday I found 9 more!

I keep them in a jar and they are one of my favorite new things. It's strange, because I never played marbles (and I'm even sort of against them because it's like teaching little kids to gamble). But I think, for me, maybe why I'm so drawn to them is that they symbolize boyhood/childhood. And even more than that- since they are burried under several inches of dirt- they represent a lost childhood. Which is timely, due to the fact that, at the eve of my fatherhood, I find myself reflecting on my own childhood quite a bit.

I'm sort of putting someone else's childhood/history to rest while examining my own and while "paving" the way for my child's all at the same time. And that's very heavy for me.

Being a Son Volt fan is a full-time job.....

.....and I'm workin' overtime.

Got the record "The Search" on my lunch break at Rasputins last Tues. along with a promo limited-edition bonus EP. Got a second bonus EP at Best Buy later that week and some other itunes exclusive outtakes.
Been listening non-stop ever since. About 30 songs in all. Man!

I was listening to the album after work while helping students with HW, when a student insightfully said, "This is L.A. music." So I asked what she meant and she replied, "Because this is the kind of music I would listen to if I were driving all the way to L.A." She "gets" it.

I've gotta be honest. It's not their most accessible. In fact, this is probably their worst. But the fact is that Jay Farrar's worst beats anybody's best by miles. So it's still incredible to me.

A lot of different instrumentation: sitar, tape loops, keyboards/synths, piano, organ, female bgvs.

Lyrically, there's more anti-war/ anti-corporate/environmentalist lyrics. Along with a lot of schitzofrenically juxtaposed lyrics like this one:

He sings in falsetto while playing a lone piano...
"She said, 'I still love you, but I don't know if I wanna spend the rest of my time with you- the rest of my life with you.'"
...then the band kicks in and he sings...
"High on adrenaline, it's new day!"

What a funny pairing of lines. Although I am someone who has personally received that first line myself and someone who has woken up to a new morning optimistically, I have never experienced the two coinciding. But it's genius because it leaves you wondering and imagining.

Note to my faithful readership: if you are a Son Volt novice, check out their first record, "TRACE" first. It's much more listener-friendly. Plus it's a classic and should be in everyones' home.

Man, I can't deliver a full review right now. I'm still processing the whole thing. But I am just fully enjoying myself. I love Jay Farrar the way that my students love Hillary Duff or (Lil') Bow Wow. And I'm totally in touch with that part of it and I'm loving it!

demo finished

New songs from Peter Stanley are up at the Winter's Fall Myspace page. They're the rough mixes of a demo we finished last week right before Keith's wedding.

Can't Wait!!!!!!

I just wanted to remind the masses that the new Son Volt album comes out in less than a week. Most of you probably already know this and have been counting the days. It's understandable if you've been scouring the web for special deals/collecter CDs/give-aways/pre-order insentives. It's perfectly normal to check the "news" page on the bands website several times a day for new updates. It's OK to ride your bike to Ameoba records during your lunch break on Tuesday, March 6.

Personally, I haven't been doing any of those things. But if you have, then you're not weird or anything.

Random Crazy Youtube clip

I'm so glad that Al Gore invented the interwebs so that we have things like this video of some really strange Norwegians. This is just funny.

blog activity and new song posted

New post on my creative blog. Mostly notes on recent recording sessions with Peter Stanley. Journal style like normal. Also, a new song called "Blame" has been posted here that we just finished.

Two Albums

There are two "country" albums I've been listening to a lot lateley that have even ended up mixed up in each other's CD cases, but which greatly contrast with one another.

One is "Roots and Crowns" by Califone. I failed to report about this record in my "Best of '06" post because I didn't own it at the time. But I just have to say this: BEST RECORD OF 2006! ...well next to Midlake. Tim Rutili is a genius and if you haven't heard these guys, click here and play the song "The Orchids". Check out my wife's review of this song. And if you're the type of person that likes to by single songs off iTunes, buy "The Orchids" ....it's so beautiful.

And I guess when I say this is a country album, I'm stretching a bit. Most of Califone's stuff is "atmospheric", hinging its sound on layers upon layers of percussion (a lot of found percussion) and electronic samples and analog tape manipulations. They blend these lo-fi elements with a folk/country sound and the result is beauty.

The other record is "What aCrying Shame" by the Mavericks. It was released in 93/94 at the height of the whole "young country" thing. So it definately has that pop production style, but the songs are just so great. I find myself playing this loud. Yesterday, I was driving around town playing this record so loud without knowing it that I pulled up next to a car with loud rap music and they sneared at me the way that people snear at them, as if to say, "Young wippersnapper!" Except I was playing early 90's young country.

Love the line:
Hey now, mister bouncer
All I wanna do is dance.
But I swear I left my wallet
Back in my workin' pants.

M. WARD- show review

A week ago, I went with some friends to see M. Ward at Bimbo's in Northbeach.

He played a solo show- meaning it was just him. Him and an acoustic guitar and a piano. Usually, if someone's just gonna do a guy-and-a-guitar thing, I'd rather be seated in a coffee shop, but this guy is so talented, he really kept the show going. I've seen Matt Ward before when he was on tour opening for Vic Chesnutt, so I knew that if it was just him and a guitar, he was entertaining enough to carry the show based on technical guitar chops alone.

But it was obvious that in the years since then, constant touring has allowed him to really hone his showmanship. He added a lot of cool showy touches that went off so slick, like very cool covers, the "premier" of a funny "music video", using a loop station to layer guitars on guitars, finishing by having a young kid come up and play piano with him for the last song.

What a fun night.

Barber Shop

I love the barber shop. When asked what my hobbies are, I am usually too sheepish to say that getting my hair cut is one of them. There's something about it that I just love- that you can't get at a salon......like:

* When your'e waiting your turn and a shrunken old man climbs up into the chair the way a child scales a jungle gym and quietly suggests, "My wife likes the waves." and points to his head. He means- leave it longer on top.

* Watching a boy get his first haircut at the barber's.

* Listening to barbers' stories- like about the drill seargents in boot camp who, when teaching a group of new enlistees to hand wash their clothes, said, "First, you take the left sock...." just so they could mess with the guy who said, "Which one's the left sock, sir?"

or chatting about the strange habbits of the mysterious men that actually exist somewhere who come in and pay the $10 for a "Beard Trim".

* Hot foam shaving cream. Straight razors. Cigar smoke.

FULL OF LIFE

Reading a book by one of my favorite authors, John Fante, called Full of Life. It's an autobiographical piece about his wife being pregnant in the early 1950s. I bought it years ago (at the height of my Fante fanboyness) and always planned on reading it whenever Jill got pregnant. Last week it ocurred to me that I have this book. So I started reading it.

I will probably be the last to read this particular copy, as each page all but turns to dust when I turn it. An illegible name and the year 1957 is penciled in the inside cover. 25 cents is marked on the cover.

I love this picture of Fante. Love his hair. The attitude.

Peter Stanley

I've been helping out a songwriter friend of mine by playing in his backing band and it's been a lot of fun. I get to play like 4 or 5 different instruments. Photos from a show the other night here. Hear one of his songs here.

Giddy!

Holy Ravioli! The new Son Volt album is coming out in March and I am as giddy as a school girl!

Emmy Lou sings "Pancho and Lefty" by Townes Van Zandt

What a treat!

"He wore his gun outside his pants for all the honest world to feel."

Townes Van Zandt and Raymond Carver at the same time!

Man, I sold some crappy CDs at Ameoba a couple days ago and got a Townes Van Zandt disc with the store credit. Man it's heavy duty. He was the real thing. Reading Carver and listening to this music is a double dose of uniquely American, desparate life........ Man.

Year In Review

MIDLAKE Trials of Van Occupanther- If I had a top 10 list, this would be #1. Oh, man. Psychadelic rock has become so contrived and pretentious. Midlake prove through strong instrumentation and the craft of songwriting that neo-psychadelia can be straightforward and beautiful and without gimmic. BEST ROCORD OF THE YEAR! Hands down.


GOB IRON Death Songs for the Living- This is a side-project collaboration between Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Anders Parker of Varnaline. Their mission on this record was to revive the "folk process", which is to constantly change traditional songs by adding lyrics, changing melodies, putting in unusual instrumentation. It's a great record, but probably for fans only, as it is probably the least accessable of either of their works. If my rantings on Jay Farrar/Son Volt intrigue any readers, they should check out Son Volt's "Trace" album. I went to see Gob Iron in early December. Here's my review of that show.

JEREMY ENIGK World Waits- Jeremy Enigk was one of my first loves. The emo pioneer fronted Sunny Day Real Estate in the early 90s and had a fantastic boroque pop solo album that I treasure. When this one came out, I had to get it, hoping he had returned to the boroque-ness of his first solo record, but this fell short for me. Just epic prog-rock type stuff. Didn't feel like old times. Sorry, Jeremy. We've just grown apart, you and me.

SPARKLEHORSE Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain- This record does too much of what I hoped the Jeremy Enigk record would do. It revisits/recycles an already overused sound that is very specific to Mark Linkous, but this record is nothing new and feels tired. Say no to drugs, kids.

FLAMING LIPS At War With the Mystics-
Very sucky. Bad move, guys.



MATES OF STATE Bring it Back- Their most accessable album to date. Proves that Team Boo was not just a fluke success. Mates of State beginners should check out "Team Boo". It's fantastic.



PERNICE BROTHERS Live a Little- Pernice Bros revisit the sound of their 1st record and it sounds great. Lots of string arragngements. All the depressing suicide and drug references you'd expect from Joe. Got a bonus CD with my pre-order, but it's nothing to write home about.

MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO. Fading Trails- Got this one for free. Might be their worst yet. Dunno. This is compiled from 3 different sessions that produced 3 full albums. They're supposed to release these albums soon. Hopefully they have better stuff on em.


M. WARD Post War- Not his best. It's worth it to hear the song, "Right in the Head" from an older brother's perspective.




SUN KIL MOON Tiny Cities/Ghosts of the Great Highway MAGNOLIA ELEC CO. Hard to Love a Man- This are not 2006 records, but they deserve a mention. Keith got them for me for Xmas and Bday in late 05. They served as a soundtrack for working in my cold, dark bombed-out house in Jan/Feb. The drab, lagging, mournful folk rock served as the perfect backdrop to leaking roofs, rusty nails, and numb fingers.

New-Years-Policy?

I'm interested to hear if anyone has made any New Years Policies. Gohead and post them hear if you have any.......

Where I'm Calling From

Reading another Carver book. Is there anyone more real than Raymond Carver?
Who else would insert the line:

"She worked Wednesdays through Sundays."

on its own in between two paragraphs? No one, that's who.

Policy VS. Resolution

I dislike New Years resolutions. I've never made one in my life. Besides disliking the fact that they are temporary and are rarely kept, I dislike the word resolve because it is awkward-sounding to say and it started becoming popularized and excessively used in noun form (as in: I admire your resolve) by President Bush (and then the common American vinacular) soon after 9/11. But I digress.

I wanted to share with my readers some success I've been having recently with what I call "policies". I've been setting policies for myself regarding what I will and won't do in social situations. Most are won't-dos, but that's OK. It prevents me from being roped into doing something I dislike and it prevents me from feeling bad and coming up with lame excuses. Policies also prevent pretentiousness and create honesty and people like that. Policies are much more permanent than resolutions and are more about protocol, rather than will-power.

Here's a couple for instances:
- When someone says a word and I don't know what it means, I stop them and simply say, "I don't know what that word means." rather than pretending I do know what it means.

- I won't listen to "jam bands" or try to like them for someone who tries to get me to listen to My Morning Jacket or Phish or Dave Matthews or Greatful Dead. I don't listen to jam bands and I skip over the articles about them in magazines.

I have a handful of solid policies that help me navigate my social world and I'm creating more. Want to make a policy of your own? Here are some places to start:
* food
* borrowing/lending
* sharing opinions
* products you won't buy
* fashion
* vocabulary
* social norms

Remember, resolutions might be just for January, but a policy can be instated/amended at any time!

How embarassingly fanboyish I am!

Gob Iron (above) Jay Farrar (below)

Oh man. I went last night to see my rock idol, Jay Farrar (of Son Volt fame) play a solo set and then play with his side project Gob Iron (Brit slang for harmonica) at Slim's. Brilliant.

First of all, I've gotta say Hans and I had sucky luck at first- finding the place was difficult and then I thought I lost my wallet, but I didn't. Then the girl in front of me at the box office turned around and gave me a free ticket and said she won 2 tickets online and didn't need the other one. FREE. My luck had changed.

Jay played 4 or 5 songs from the upcoming (can't wait!) Son Volt album just on the acoustic guitar. Man, the lyrics are so visual and uniquely American and tragic and my brain was teleported to a far off place in my inner mind! Even with just those stripped down skeletal songs, Hans, who is not a Farrar fan, seemed affected by them. Either Hans was bored or blown away because his jaw had dropped.

That would've been good enough by itself, but guitarist/lapsteelist Mark Spencer came out and backed Jay up with a telecaster and it was just amazing. I'm not sure I've seen that many virtuosic performances of that level up close and personal. Spencer was out of this world and at times, it didn't even sound like a guitar. If I had a choice between some first-chair violinist slinging a Stradivarius and Mark Spencer, I'd choose Mark Spencer. Heck, I'd choose Spencer with his hands tied behind his back, he sounds so amazing. And you would too!

Gob Iron is a side project of Jay Farrar and Anders Parker (of Varnaline fame). They have reworked traditional folk songs with altered lyrics/melodies on their new album. They came on and played a great short set- basically played through the new album. The three guys traded between drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and lapsteel. Their encore was just sort of a jam session thing where they played covers and reworked each others' solo stuff. The encore was kind of sucky except that I love Jay's electric guitar solos and you don't get to see that that much in Son Volt.

But holy crap, what a good show!

The guys traded off on this guitar(above), belonging to Anders Parker. It's a costom made telecaster made out of pieces of his mom's barn. Click here to see more beauty.