Records I Buy

RIB's 2011 Album of the Year: PJ Harvey -- Let England Shake

2011-12-30T09:45:00.011-05:00

Happy (Almost) New Year! To those of you who read Unwinnable.com, this pick may not be a total surprise. To the rest of you, this is the first year I didn't read this to someone, or make the announcement in a private ceremony, prior to the big unveiling on the blog. It's been that hectic this holiday season. Anyway, here goes ...

Some years, choosing my Album of the Year is a difficult process that requires a lot of soul-searching, not to mention listening to two or three albums incessantly throughout late November and December until I get sick enough of one of them for a winner to emerge.

Some years, choosing my Album of the Year is an easy process, often decided before I've even announced my nominees.

The hard years are more thrilling, and usually make the announcement all the sweeter -- out of sheer relief if nothing else. But the easy years are fun, too, because they are years where not a shred of doubt lingers that I've made the right choice.

This year is an easy year.

Only time will tell if PJ Harvey's Let England Shake is truly a top-tier Album of the Year winner -- in a year R.E.M. broke up, I'm still listening to Monster and Up as much as ever -- and I'd be lying if I told you her runner up, John Maus, didn't get some consideration.

But I can pay it this compliment:

Harvey's record, a rock-n-roll epic about World War I, is by far the best album of 2011 -- and, more importantly, in this context at least, my absolute runaway favorite.

Harvey is the second solo female artist in a row to take home the prize (and third overall). Though she and Laura Veirs couldn't be much more different, like July Flame, PJ's record came out early and stuck with me all year long. In fact, in a year marked by dramatic change in my personal life, I still think of last winter when I hear it, and the sense of emerging from the doldrums that was so palpable back then, especially over a weekend in Boston when I had it practically on repeat.

But while Veirs' record is a quiet, personal masterpiece, PJ's is grand, sweeping, the kind of work fanboys like me get all giddy over when we see her playing it live in front of the British Prime Minister on chat shows. There are cavalry horns, bodies falling to the ground like lumps of meat, ironic, sonically familiar pleas to the United Nations, folk sing-alongs about deformed children (featuring backing vocals from John Parish), and so on, but while it's disturbing at times, it never feels morbid, and even comes off as sentimental -- a terrible time worth remembering, and singing about.

You don't need to know a lick about its subject to get it -- it's not a Ken Burns miniseries. Let England Shake lives and breathes, relevant anywhere where there's war or the threat of it. And, as I'm apt to say in these year-end writeups, it just rocks.

I've been a Harvey fan for some time -- I came late to the party on Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, but Uh Huh Her was an AOTY nominee and I nearly drooled all over her score as I ogled Mary-Louise Parker as Hedda Gabbler on Broadway. Five or 10 years ago, I expected her to win this award, or at least make a very near run at it, but I have to admit this record caught me almost completely by surprise.

It hasn't let me go.

RIB's 2011 Album of the Year Nominees

2011-11-23T11:13:00.012-05:00

Happy almost Turkey Day!

With the big feast nearly at hand we bring you our annual tradition -- the nominees for this year's Album of the Year. Continuing a recent trend, we have pared down the list to just five.

So, without further ado, in iTunes-alphabetical order:

The Nominees

Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes isn't messing around on its second full-length release, from the very opening verse on: "So now I am older, than my mother and father, when they had their daughter, now what does that say about me? Oh how could I dream of such a selfless and true love? Could I wash my hands of, just looking out for me?" Now maybe that floors me because I'm 33 with a near-marriage under my belt, but I don't think I'm alone here -- ours is a generation of extended adolescence after all. While I can see how some might argue that this highly personal approach is, in a way, a detriment to the album, perhaps that over-internalization actually says everything that needs to be said about these times of ours. At any rate, with Robin Pecknold older now that his parents were all those years ago, and with two classics under his band's belt, one can only hope Fleet Foxes' best work isn't behind it.

John Maus -- We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves

At first, it seemed little more than a novelty to me. Wouldn't it be hilarious to nominate for Album of the Year a record with an entire song that revolves around the single line, "Pussy is not a matter of fact"? And yet, John Maus, for all his Joy Division-tinged anachronism and reverb kitsch, has actually crafted a record that is indeed worthy not only of a nomination, but of strong consideration for the grand prize. There's not a song here I don't like, but a few -- Quantum Leap, Believer and Hey Moon -- are easily among the best songs of the year. And yet this album is still better than the sum of its parts, with an equal measure of I-don't-give-a-fuck and no-actually-this-shit-may-be-kind-of-important.

PJ Harvey -- Let England Shake

Who writes a rock 'n' roll epic about the effect of World War I on Great Britain? PJ Harvey does, and thank God for her. Not only that, but she positively nails it. And if songs about dead bodies crashing to the ground, complete with the soounds of cavalry horns and sing-along backing vocals from John Parish aren't enough to make her a national treasure, the sight of her performing on British chat shows in front of UK Prime Minister David Cameron certainly fulfills the requirement. Harvey won the 2011 Mercury Prize -- just another reason they have it just a bit more together across the pond.

R.E.M. -- Collapse Into Now

Say whatever the fuck you want. R.E.M. is my favorite band of all time and Collapse Into Now, while nowhere near their best work, is a more than worthy coda on 31 years of amazing music. But even anticipating the eye rolls you're giving me now, I had to put this record in my top 5 -- not just as a lifetime achievement award, or because the band signed off on its own terms, but because this record deserves it. Yes, there are several cringe-inducing, late-period Stipean lyrical gaffes here, but there are also some of the best post-Bill Berry R.E.M. songs, too: UBerlin (which, in my opinion, is enough on its own to justify their entire last decade) on the dreamier side, Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter and That Someone Is You on the rockier one. At the very least, since that is indeed Stipe waving goodbye on the album cover, you won't have to indulge me in this regard ever again.

Radiohead -- The King Of Limbs

Radiohead is so great, really good albums by the band seem so-so. Or do so-so albums by the band seem really good? Either way, The King Of Limbs might not be the first record I hand to newbies and non-believers, but it does contain a few of the band's greatest songs -- even if you have to be more patient than you'd expect to be with an album only eight songs long. I could listen to the guitar licks in Little By Little all night and Codex might be the single most beautiful thing in the Radiohead canon, if it's not eclipsed by Give Up The Ghost, the very next track.

Honorable Mention

ADELE - 21
Apex Manor -- The Year Of Magical Drinking
Beirut -- The Rip Tide
Bill Callahan -- Apocalypse
Bjork -- Biophilia
Bon Iver -- Bon Iver
The Decemberists -- The King Is Dead
Florence + The Machine -- Ceremonials
Garland Jeffreys -- The King Of In Between
Gillian Welch -- The Harrow & The Harvest
Girls -- Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Iron & Wine -- Kiss Each Other Clean
Julianna Barwick -- The Magic Place
Laura Marling -- A Creature I Don't Know
Lykke Li -- Wounded Rhymes
Mogwai -- Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
My Morning Jacket -- Circuital
Wye Oak -- Civilian

We All Go Back To Where We Belong

2011-10-22T10:03:00.007-04:00

Mr. Zimmermann,

Speaking of pleas being answered, I'd like to congratulate you on the recent news of R.E.M.'s breakup. When I learned that the Athens-based rock band loved by millions had decided to call it a day, I immediately thought of you -- and what I'm sure must have been your squeals of delight, no doubt audible through much of the greater Chicago area. Who says wishes don't come true?

As for your analysis of the new (last) single, I am amazed to find it a nuanced argument, and not at all as full of bile as many of your latter-day R.E.M. rantings. Good for you. As I might have said once in the past, if you keep finding things to like about the band's music, you may someday become a fan. How ironic now that the band is no more!

Regardless, I strongly agree with your assertion that, "The last chapter is often an Epilogue long after the climax has already occurred." That is surely the case with We All Go Back To Where We Belong [iTunes link], though, unlike you, I did get a few goosebumps listening to it.

There's something about the subtle brass part poking out throughout, the harmony between Stipe and Mills, even the spaghetti western guitar part, that, while perhaps not climactic R.E.M. moments, do have that last-chapter feeling of knowing you're slowly coming to the end of a great book, wishing that, somehow, the final few pages, then the final few paragraphs, then the last word, will never come.

Like much of R.E.M.'s last decade of output, WAGBTWWB is a ghost of what the band once was. But listening to the song, even with Stipe's voice barely able to power through it, there are reminders here of what the band did better than any other, enough so that not only does the song work, it works well enough to be a worthy coda. It's hard to put into words exactly what that R.E.M. signature was -- I've been trying to for years, with various amount of failure -- but it's a sort of pairing of melancholy and hope that brings both comfort and inspiration.

If the band had stayed together, they'd likely have never written another hit song, never reached their '80s and '90s heights, and, barring a Bob Dylan-style comeback, would have continued to fade into artistic oblivion. But listening to WAGBTWWB, I'm not thinking about that.

I'm thinking about how songs like R.E.M.'s, no matter how often they may be imitated, and even in their 2011 state of decay, will never be put to tape again.

At the end of a great book, to continue with your metaphor, the characters we've grown to believe in presumably continue on, but we'll hear no more from them. We've shared the time we're going to share with them, and now we must move on.

With music, it seems even more real. I'll never be 16 years old again. Monster will never be brand new again, never be No. 1 on the charts, never be the latest release from the world's biggest rock band. But I could feel 16 again every time a new R.E.M. song or record came out, or every time I got to see them in concert.

Now all I have are memories.

Great memories I wouldn't trade for anything.

But memories.

That's not to say that I dislike being 33, or that there isn't new music to cherish, new stories to be written and told.

Still, a new R.E.M. song, save for a select few (cough, Around the Sun), is always better than none.

WAGBTWWB is better than a new R.E.M. song, though. It happens to be a good new R.E.M. song -- a resource that once seemed to be in never-ending supply, but has now run out, forever.

R.I.P., R.E.M.

2011-10-01T14:49:00.016-04:00

When I heard the news about R.E.M., I was in the Canadian pavilion at Epcot Center, about to watch the ridiculous 360-degree Martin Short movie that serves as a glorified travel brochure -- and which, like just about everything in the World Showcase, I love unconditionally.

Nothing can get me down at Disney World.

Not even the breakup of my all-time favorite band.

I wasn't going to get bummed out the week after, either, a week I spent in Tampa watching baseball and reading A Game of Thrones on the beach.

But now, with my vacation over and the playoffs here, and with my life about to get as hectic as it's been all year, which is saying something, I'm finally sitting down to reflect, and to write a blog post some people were probably expecting a long time ago.

And still, I am not sad.

I have R.E.M. playing on repeat as I type this. Up now: Uberlin, which I made a point to listen to that first afternoon in Tomorrowland, and which I'd argue is enough, on its own, to make the often shaky last decade of the band's work worth it.

It's by no means a perfect song, a mere shadow of their once vast powers. But I am so heartened every time I hear it -- and now that it's their last great song, I feel so at peace with their breakup that not only have I never let myself turn into a pathetic puddle of fanboy tears, I can say that I am as happy to be an R.E.M. fan as I have ever been.

If you don't get R.E.M., I can't change your mind. But if you get them, you know how remarkable their catalogue is, how many emotions they touch upon -- and you know, that for every song the unwashed masses call "wimpy," they have five more that have more balls than just about anything to come out in rock music during their 31-year existence.

There's one line in Uberlin, which sums up not only the song, not only their last album, but also I think their entire career, and which I keep coming back to these past two weeks. Initially, it didn't grab me. But a month ago or so, on a MetroNorth train, headed south along the Hudson River, it suddenly said everything:

"I don't mind repeating," sings Stipe, "I am not complete."

R.E.M. spent the great majority of their 31 years pushing themselves and their craft, reshaping their sound, often to their detriment, but creating moments for 16-year-old kids like me, picking up Monster at Media Play in the South Hills Mall in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., after school, 17 years now almost to the day, expecting Automatic For The People II and having my head blown clear off my shoulders by what I found there instead.

And yet, despite all of their many masterpieces, they always felt like a work in progress, changing and evolving and growing into something new and different and, more often than not, exciting.

As their sound shifted through the decades, R.E.M.'s best songs not only admitted to the stumblings and bumblings and fumblings along the way -- the feelings we all have of vulnerability and fear -- they reveled in doing so, becoming a source of comfort, solace and confidence.

Perfect Circle, shoulders high in the room. Harborcoat, a handshake is worthy, if it's all that you've got. Can't Get There From Here, but I know the way. It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Everybody Hurts, so hold on. Find the River, I have got to leap to find my way. Walk Unafraid, I'll be clumsy instead. Imitation of Life, this lightening storm, this tidal wave, this avalanche, I'm not afraid.

And those are just the songs that have popped up now on shuffle, as I sit here writing.

In truth, we're all just walking works in progress, and R.E.M.'s music reminds us of that. Even on their very last album, the band is still trying to make it through the day … and the day becomes the night.

Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry -- and all of the R.E.M. fan friends and countless memories I've gathered because of them (from that day buying Monster, to Stipe wearing my Burger King crown on stage in '99, to meeting him, two other times, in equally bizarre circumstances, to seeing the band play in front of 70,000 fans, under an open sky and a gothic cathedral in Roncalli Platz in Koln, Germany, to the cherished moments of my life that rush back to me through practically every one of their songs) -- helped me make it through the last two decades, and they'll be helping me, and a whole lot of others, I trust, for many more to come.

For that, I will be forever grateful.

The story is far from complete.

Things I Want That I Can't (&^&*%! Find

2011-07-13T21:36:00.032-04:00

So lately it seems like there a ton of things I want to buy but can't for the life of me actually find. I've decided to post a running list here on my blog in the hopes that some kind soul will stumble upon it and send me these things. Come on Internet!

***

1. Maps from inside the metro cars in Prague

This one seems so simple, and yet has proven to be so maddeningly elusive. I even wrote the Czech transit authority offering to buy them. No dice. My friends in Prague haven't been able to get them for me, either.

Haven't the Czechs embraced capitalism? Don't they know EVERYTHING is for sale?

Actually, as this list proves, not everything is for sale, after all.

Two examples:

***

2. A print of a Max Svabinsky painting I saw once but don't know the name of

I saw a particular painting by the celebrated Czech artist at an exhibit when I was living in Prague. It was of a couple (I believe) walking around the bend of a hill. It was perfect.

Apparently, it doesn't exist on the Internet -- and maybe even anywhere else anymore, for that matter.

Now I know what you're thinking: Perhaps, idiot, if you knew the f-ing name of the painting, you'd be able to find it. But that wouldn't help me, I can guarantee you.

Because I would GLADLY SETTLE FOR A PRINT OF "The Poor Region" -- shown above -- which is also awesome, and which I can't even get a hi-res jpeg of for smazak's sake.

***

3. A print of my favorite Ed Ruscha painting, "Home Power"

I saw this one live in Atlanta and the High Museum:

It rules.

It also cannot be purchased.

***

4. A vintage Panasonic model RC 6025 alarm clock

I believe this is exact model Bill Murray wakes up to in the movie Groundhog Day.

Which is why I want it.

I was looking for a cool, arty, conversation-piece of an alarm clock so I didn't have to sleep next to my iPhone anymore. I did a lot of searching -- and then it occurred to me. Groundhog Day!

Can't find one, though.

Of course.

***

5. An awesome vintage wireframe record shelf

When my parents were cleaning out my grandparents' house in the Bronx during their move to assisted living, they asked me if I wanted any of their stuff. I pawed through their record collection, was mostly unmoved, and said no.

What I failed to notice was the wire shelf they were stored on. Which makes me a moron.

Why?

Because, as I've since learned, they're extremely tough to find.

I want and need one (maybe two) and preferably -- nay, definitely -- one with vintage/ironic genre labels, sort of like the one below.

That's it for now, but feel free to keep checking back here. I will add more stuff as I think of it.

If anyone has any leads on the current crop, please let me know!

This Year In Music Is Awesome (So Far)

2011-07-08T23:47:00.027-04:00

I've been told I say it every year. I've admitted, on more than one occasion, on this blog and in the flesh, that I say it every year. But who gives a fuck. This year has been especially great for new music. And why not be enthusiastic about it?

I'm far too lazy to put much real thought into this post, but I now have to try to keep up with the Joneses on The Bashionista's blogroll, so I'd like to post, in iTunes alphabetical order, the records I've been (virtually) spinning this year, with some brief words on each.

ADELE -- 21

Her name is in all caps in iTunes, and she sort of deserves it so I'm using that style here, too. Look, you probably have figured out at this point that I don't like pop music, and that when I find something in that vein that moves me, I get all giggly like a 13-year-old girl (See: West, Kanye). ADELE isn't going to win album of the year -- she's no Ella Fitzgerald (who had no need for caps) -- but Someone Like You is a stop-everything-you're-doing-and-listen kind of song.

Bon Iver -- Bon Iver

My arch rival Eric Zimmermann told me this record would change my life. It hasn't yet. And I'm not even sure I like it as much as his/their debut, which I nominated for my Album of the Year in 2008. I think what hurts this one, even more so than the first, is that I can't make out most of the words when he sings them. Does that comment make me old? If so, so be it. But still, great record.

The Decemberists -- The King is Dead

No, this is not going to be Colin Meloy's second Album of the Year. And to an extent it deserves some of the criticism it has been getting. But there are a couple songs that make it worthwhile, especially the Peter Buck-driven Calamity Song and the Gillian Welch-peppered June Hymn.

Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues

The only thing that could keep this album out of the Album of the Year running would be for the mp3s to become corrupted and for me to have some sort of head injury that erased the record from my memory. Still, I think I'd find a way to re-discover it, and be charmed all over again.

Garland Jeffreys -- The King of In Between

Rolling Stone's Best New Artist in 1977 has been mostly laying low for decades. Then he comes out with this love letter to New York City -- Coney Island Winter being the highlight -- and all of a sudden I'm listening to happy roots rock. What's happening to me?

Gillian Welch -- The Harrow and the Harvest

I'm going to be honest with you -- I'd love to say that the eight-year wait for Gillian's new record (released on my birthday!) was worth it. It wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I am digging this album quite a bit. But I wish I had three of four more to mix in with it at my leisure. That being said, there is nothing like falling asleep to the perfect dance that is Gillian's and Dave Rawlings' guitars making love on tape.

Iron & Wine -- Kiss Eachother Clean

Poor Iron & Wine. Once Fleet Foxes' new one came out, my thirst for bearded folkies was quenched elsewhere. But, you know, once those mp3s become corrupted and I have my head injury ...

John Maus -- We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves

If you don't like the song Quantum Leap, well, I guess I can't blame you. Fuck that, I do blame you. The '80s are alive and well.

Julianna Barwick -- The Magic Place

I ripped this on Twitter the day I bought it. And yes, it can try your patience if you're not in the mood. I'm not sure if I've gotten through any one track more than one time. But it's gorgeous and we're probably going to get married, so don't tell her.

Lykke Li -- Wounded Rhymes

Is it already too late to be cool for liking the song Get Some? "Like a shotgun/needs an outcome/I'm your prostitute/you're gonna get some." The window on everyone on planet Earth not knowing this song is closing very rapidly.

Mogwai -- Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

All year, whenever an awesome instrumental track pops up on shuffle, I wonder who it is for only a split second before realizing -- duh! -- it can only be Mogwai. Actually, that's been happening for years.

My Morning Jacket -- Circuital

I haven't given this one nearly the time it deserves. But the song Victory Dance alone is worth the $9.99 or whatever I paid for the full album on iTunes. (And the album art reminds me of Bioshock.)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- Belong

Speaking of the '80s being alive and well, My Terrible Friend is this year's best Cure song not by the Cure. Cure fans: Do you like this song or does it annoy you? I'm a Cure fan, but not an overprotective diehard, so more of this stuff in the world doesn't bother me one bit.

PJ Harvey -- Let England Shake

I can't say enough about this record, which totally kicks ass, so I won't even try. Check this space again in November for a certain list of nominees.

Radiohead -- The King of Limbs

Subtle, gorgeous, the best rock band on the planet doing what it wants any way it fucking wants to. Glorious.

Wye Oak -- Civilian

They had me at hello when I saw them live. Get the title track if nothing else.

Other stuff I've been listening to this year but don't feel like writing about tonight:

Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory -- Portal 2: Songs To Test By
Apex Manor -- The Year of Magical Drinking
Bill Callahan -- Apocalypse
Death Cab For Cutie -- Codes and Keys
Eddie Vedder -- Ukelele Songs
Figurines -- Figurines (with a song named Poughkeepsie!)
The Mountain Goats -- All Eternals Deck
Okkervil River -- I Am Very Far
Panda Bear -- Tomboy
R.E.M. -- Collapse Into Now

RIB's (Early) Spring 2011 Mix

2011-05-08T11:11:00.008-04:00

I finally have Interwebs at my new place, so I can, at long last, get around to a post that's a couple months old at this point: RIB's (Early) Spring 2011 Mix.

The mix is a hand-crafted and immaculately designed product -- conceived during a weekend trip to Boston in March and signifying the slow, hopeful climb out of a brutal winter and using only songs released in early 2011 -- which was shipped to a handful of friends who made me the best offers on Facebook.

To those of you who have reciprocated or are reciprocating now, I thank you.

Those of you who still owe me arancini, GET A MOVE ON IT!!!

Here are some more photos and the (brief) track list.

TRACKLIST

1. You're Lionel Ritchie -- Mogwai (8:29)
2. The Glorious Land -- PJ Harvey (3:35)
3. Little By Little -- Radiohead (4:27)
4. Love Out of Lust -- Lykke Li (4:44)
5. That Someone Is You -- R.E.M. (1:44)
6. Calamity Song -- The Decemberists (3:48)
7. Half Moon -- Iron & Wine (3:16)
8. Helplessness Blues -- Fleet Foxes (5:03)

The Ghosts of New R.E.M. Records Past

2011-03-08T23:01:00.025-05:00

I'm listening to the new R.E.M. album, Collapse Into Now -- released today -- on my old CD player, and it occurs to me that it's the exact same CD player I played Monster on the day it was released nearly 17 years ago — still my favorite New R.E.M. Record Day ever.

Which got me thinking: Can I remember where I was living, what I was doing, and where exactly I bought every R.E.M. album on the day of its release? I admit it’s much easier for me than for some people; I only started buying brand spanking new R.E.M. albums on that same day back in 1994, when a 16-year-old high-school Matt hopped into his shit brown 1980s Monte Carlo hand-me-down and ... wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

MONSTER (Sept. 26, 1994): I’ve told this story many times, so many that I wouldn’t be surprised if you Googled “Matt Marrone” and “Monster” and found 40 different retellings of it. The basic gist is this: I couldn’t sit still all that day in school. I think “R.E.M.” was every other word I said (“Monster” was the other). I had heard What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? and, like many recently converted R.E.M. devotees, I was wondering why the fuck it didn’t sound like Automatic For The People. In fact, I hated it on first listen. After school, I drove to Media Play in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and couldn’t find the damn CD anywhere. I almost left the store dejected until I took one last peek at the New Releases section and, being that my desperation was bordering on panic, I figured I’d pick up the neon orange CD with the cartoonish bear head on it and see what the hell that was. My life as a music fan has never, ever been the same. I took Monster home, marveled at how brash it was, how gruff and distorted and loud, how it seemed like a great big fuck you to the Grammy voters and casual fans they’d picked up the previous few years. It was glorious. I listened to WTF,K? every single day after school for at least six months.

NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI (Sept. 9, 1996): Maybe my one-time blogging partner Geoff can remember specifics, but we were college roommates at NYU at the time, and I almost certainly bought it at the Tower Records that used to be (essentially) on campus. I recall just a few days before, we attended a record promo party a few blocks away at Astor Place (it was a parking lot then, now it’s a high-rise), and along with showing Road Movie and handing out album cover stickers, they tossed a few promo copies of the album into the crowd. I would have given my left nut for one. I got a million stickers, but no CD. Turns out a guy on our floor (at Brittany Residence Hall on 10th and Broadway) got a copy. We heard a bit of it emanating from his room, but were too shy to knock on his door. Oh the follies of youth.

UP (Oct. 26, 1998): I remember this one like it was yesterday. The record was released not long after serendipity struck; I had sent away for David Letterman tickets that summer and the very week I found out R.E.M. was going to be on, my parents called and told me I’d gotten some type of letter from The Late Show. Turns out it was two tickets to the same night R.E.M. was appearing. The night of the show, I sang along to Daysleeper to Geoff’s embarrassment/horror and the fascination of one CBS page. Good times (I also scored tickets and saw them on Conan not long after, which is when I met the band for the first time). Anyway, the night before the record was released, they had a Midnight Madness sale at the aforementioned Tower Records. We were living near South Street Seaport at the time, and Geoff, to my shock and dismay, decided it was too much work and went to sleep. He later came to regret it, but for me it turned out to be one of my most memorable first listens. Not that anything crazy happened at the sale; it was just the subway ride home, reading the lyrics (printed lyrics? gasp!) and then listening back in the apartment, on the 27th floor of Clair Huxtable’s law offices, all of Manhattan glittering around and below me. I remember calling Liz, then my girlfriend, in the wee hours of the morning to tell her about the record. I was so moved by it I literally felt sick. To this day, it’s my second favorite R.E.M. album, eclipsed only by Monster.

REVEAL (May 14, 2001): I decided, with the Internet changing music buying forever — in ways that seemed more bad than good, at least back then -- that I’d refrain from downloading any tracks or reading any advance features/spoilers/what have you prior to the album’s release. I was living in Prague, and my roommate Ryan would read articles and not tell me what they said so I could live vicariously through him. Just before Reveal came out, Ryan, my student Petr and I drove to Cologne, Germany, to see R.E.M. perform live in a square next to the city’s gorgeous gothic cathedral. We stayed overnight at the home of some wonderful fellow fans — who tormented me by trying to show me the album cover — then joined 70,000-plus others for one of the greatest (free) concerts of all time. Not only would it be the first time I had heard the new songs, but just hours before the band took the stage, I heard my name being called from across the square. “Matt! Matt!” It was my German friend, Charis, who had been there for my famed Burger King crown incident in ’99, and with whom I’d completely lost touch. Later, I had a baseball catch with a Brit on a suburban German street ... and the drive home, was, well, that’s an entirely different, and yet even more legendary, story. (For the record, I eventually bought Reveal at Bontonland in Wenceslas Square, where I got all my music during my two years in the Czech Republic.)

AROUND THE SUN (Oct. 4, 2004): I’d rather forget this album, entirely, but I’ve given myself the task, so here goes. I was back in the U.S. at this point, living with my uncle in the Bronx and commuting to my then part-time job at the Daily News, having just returned from my graduate school thesis work in Scotland. I hate hate hate this album, and I can’t remember where I got it (probably Virgin Megastore in Times Square or something like that). I actually enjoyed my first listen that night, lying in what had once been my grandparents’ bedroom, because I had already heard it — and hated it — prior to the release and was in that New R.E.M. Record Day haze that makes even a shiny turd seem shinier.

ACCELERATE (April 1, 2008): Another all-time classic release day. It started with waking up before dawn and making my way from my old apartment in Hoboken, N.J., to Rockefeller Plaza to see R.E.M. perform on the Today show. As it turned out, I got to see them do a soundcheck as well as perform live, and I ended up getting caught on camera (screen grab here). I also met fellow fans Jen and MaryLou on line and the three of us later went to a nearby Best Buy and bought the album. I had this blog back then, so here is the full account.

COLLAPSE INTO NOW (Today): Kind of anticlimactic since so much of the record was released by the band beforehand, and the entire thing was streamed on NPR over the weekend. Plus, I had to work (ESPN New York) and couldn’t buy it (at Tunes in Hoboken) until I got home (my second go-around in my fifth Hoboken apartment). I bought it on both vinyl and CD (I don’t buy CDs anymore except for R.E.M.) and then played it on my aforementioned CD player, which was also the first CD player I ever owned. And it sounded great -- once I was able to rip the long-stuck CD tray out so I could get the damn thing in there.

Okay, I could go into more detail but I have Mr. Geoff on the phone and we’re talking about how old we are.

Happy New R.E.M. Record Day!

REMRing's got a lot to learn

2011-03-06T20:36:00.013-05:00

It seems my sparring partner, Eric, despite his stated dislike for the soon-to-be-released R.E.M. album, Collapse Into Now, is far more excited about it than I am.

How do I know this? Somehow he managed to skip ahead and write track reviews for All The Best, Everyday Is Yours To Win, Walk It Back, the video for Uberlin and the song Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter before I could get around to responding to even his first post, let alone listen to the latter track enough to remember its name (I had to copy and paste it from his site).

Eric, I implore you, sit back, take a deep breath, enjoy a White Sox spring training loss and a nice slice of deep-dish pizza (I need a recommendation for my upcoming trip, by the way), and relax. The blogosphere can survive a few hours without you.

Anyway, as a result of your verbal barrage, I am forced to condense my response into a single post. Here goes:

Dearest fellow R.E.M. enthusiast,

Let's take your rarely lucid points one by one:

1. All The Best: A broken (tick tock) clock is right twice a day, as they say, and since there are two tracks on this album that do nothing for me, All The Best and Walk It Back, you come off like a fine piece of precision Swiss craftsmanship here. The song is filler, little more, and while it doesn't tarnish their legacy, it likely won't get many spins from this diehard fan.

2. Everyday Is Yours To Win: It really surprises me that you like this song as much as you do. Still, your clear inability to form reasonable opinions of new R.E.M. songs has grown to near-epic proportions, so I'll once again have to humor you with a response. You're right, Everyday Is Yours To Win is one of the best songs on the album. And yet it still has some of its corniest lines (the aforementioned tick tock, plus cherry pie and I've got a bridge for you). Where on other songs, that would immediately disqualify it from your esteem, you're willing to look past it, accept it for what it is, and enjoy it. With all due respect, why can't you fucking do that with the rest of the album? Your mysteries are vast (though not at all intriguing).

3. Walk It Back: I don't hate it as much as you do -- the music itself is decent enough. But yes, Stipe is no longer a deep, nuanced lyricist. Again, you'd hate this song a whole lot less if you could accept that. Still, I'm not gonna fight you here. Stipe mailed this one in, so why shouldn't I follow suit?

4. The video for Uberlin: I really like the song, and the video is fine. Does anyone even give a crap about music videos anymore? As long as it doesn't result in the band facing criminal prosecution (snuff film, kiddie porn, terroristic threats), I really don't care much either way. That being said, I was taken aback by your claim that the R.E.M. fan community loathes it. Why? At worst it's simply forgettable (perhaps a valid criticism of the record as a whole), but after a couple views I think it's just good fun.

5. A_A_A_A: There a few songs on CiN that, while they may not be essential R.E.M., simply rawk. This is one of them. Peaches is great, and Stipe sounds like he's woken up after a nice 3:24 nap. While, yes, the lyrics are nonsensical, this is a prime example of a song you should be praising. What group of 50-somethings still make music that sounds this alive? #Winning.

Okay, I think we're caught up. If not, my dinner's ready anyway so feel free to continue your assault on the the Internet's collective intelligence.

Records You Should Buy: PJ Harvey's Let England Shake

2011-02-16T14:17:00.011-05:00

I've only had it a day, but PJ Harvey's Let England Shake is already my favorite record of 2011. That will quite possibly change come Saturday, but for now it's on repeat in my apartment.

This is one of those instances where I wish I had the liner notes, for reasons not the least of which being that Let England Shake is a World War I epic and I don't know nearly as much about World War I as I probably should. I'd love to see what she's got going on in print, if only to read the lyrics (yes, yes, I'll get them online and read them right after I finish this post; plus I'm planning to Instapaper just about any review I can find).

But the lyrics that have hit me so far -- soldiers longing to see a woman's face, the dead falling like lumps of meat, "England's dancing days are done" -- put you right in the trenches of some long-ago, black and white battle, a surreal feeling heightened by the infectious musical accompaniment in the title track (see below), the cavalry bugle in The Glorious Land -- even the callout to Eddie Cochran's golden oldie Summertime Blues in The Words That Maketh Murder (also below, though not quite the album version).

If you've ever been interested in PJ Harvey -- her Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea record is a modern classic, and she also did the haunting score for the Mary-Louise Parker production of Hedda Gabler I had the pleasure of seeing on Broadway a couple years back -- I'd say pick this one up.

I'm really just starting to dig into it myself -- there's a lot to digest here, and I'm basically still on the appetizer course -- but it's already clear this is a journey worth taking.

It Happened Eddie

2011-02-09T05:08:00.003-05:00

What would R.E.M.'s It Happened Today sound like if Eddie Vedder had sung lead? Probably better than this, but it's 5 o'clock in the morning and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Enjoy!

It Happened Eddie by matthew_marrone

Join the R.E.M. remix project here.

Stop and Smell the Roses

2011-01-20T12:16:00.009-05:00

R.E.M.'s new single, Mine Smell Like Honey, is now available on iTunes. As usual, my sparring partner Eric is up in arms. Let's see if we can talk him off the *(&?!*%^@#( ledge already.

Dear Eric,

Usually, your monologues are a monument to ignorance and illiteracy. This time, while those traits are present as usual, your commentary takes on a new quality: desperation.

You seem to want, so terribly, for me to tell you that you're wrong, that Mine Smells Like Honey is indeed classic R.E.M., that the band is on top of its game, that Stipe & Co. still represent the very pinnacle of rock and roll. You compare Collapse Into Now to the latest record by Arcade Fire, an A-list band in its prime, and you wonder why Arcade Fire's songs sound better to you than R.E.M.'s new ones do.

I'm sorry to disappoint, but you're absolutely right. Arcade Fire is a better band than R.E.M. is right now. I feel like a broken record on this, and perhaps I am, but The Suburbs is Arcade Fire's third record. Collapse Into Now is R.E.M.'s 15th. There simply is no real basis for comparison between the two, and holding one up to the other is sheer madness. You're dooming yourself to disappointment and despair -- but to what purpose?

What do you gain by holding R.E.M. to such an impossible standard? Moreover, why does R.E.M. have to be the best, most important band in the world for you to love them? You've discussed on Facebook the possibility of shutting down your site -- a site devoted as much to the early history of the band as is it dedicated to the present -- because the band's recent output no longer thrills you like it did 20 years ago. But I think you owe it to yourself to relax your standards a bit. Imagine listening to the new songs and finding joy in them instead of disappointment. When I listen to Mine Smell Like Honey, I'm not anticipating the sudden realization that Collapse Into Now is gonna end up as the 2011 Matty Album of the Year. It's Arcade Fire's turn to vie for such honors. And yet I can still put new R.E.M. on and feel good about it. The new record isn't the be all and end all of my music collection -- nor does it need to be.

As much as you might want me to, I can't convince you that the new songs are good and I can't force you to like them. I'm a pretty stingy, stubborn critic myself. But in my initial disgust over Around the Sun, I realized in horror that my worst fears had come true -- R.E.M. was no longer truly relevant. At first I was angry, bitter, resentful -- and all around a pretty miserable son of a bitch on certain message boards. But, as the weeks and months passed, I came to terms with it -- and, like many things in life, the worrying was far worse than the reality. I've since found new artists to take R.E.M.'s place on the pedestal, and ever since, I've been perfectly fine winning small battles with the band, without worrying about the greater war.

In other words, a new R.E.M. record doesn't need to be Monster. I'll never be 16 again, and R.E.M. will never be 14. And that's okay.

At the same time, I feel reasonably confident, if not wholly convinced, that there is no way in hell Arcade Fire's 15th album will be as good as R.E.M.'s 15th. In fact I'd consider it a worthwhile wager that Arcade Fire will never even release a 15th record. You may consider that a good thing, but I disagree. I'd much rather have a decent bunch of songs to look forward to -- I've been playing the tracks from Collapse Into Now nonstop for weeks, singing along like I actually was 16 again -- and the new set of happy memories that go along with them, than be limited to their no-less brilliant back catalogue.

For this reason among others, I consider myself fortunate to be an R.E.M. fan. I think if you accepted reality, you'd feel fortunate too.

R.E.M. Warms A Cold, Cold Heart

2011-01-04T23:20:00.031-05:00

My ongoing conversation with REManklet.com continues today with the unveiling of a new R.E.M. song, Oh My Heart, which you can now hear at NPR's website.

I suggest you listen to the song -- and peruse Eric's surprisingly positive reaction -- before you read my response below:

Derek Sanderson Zimmermann,

It's nice to see you've recently become a fan of my favorite band, R.E.M.

I promise, as you set forth on your new adventure, that you won't be disappointed by the great majority of the band's back catalogue. If you're looking for something lovely and brooding, Automatic For The People is a good starting point for the casual fan, as is its Grammy-winning predecessor, Out Of Time. There may even be a song or two you recognize on those records from your favorite pop station back in the early '90s.

Perhaps you caught a verse of Shiny Happy People as you feverously twisted your FM dial in the hopes of hearing Kris Kross' anthem, Jump, which saved your ass on your first day of junior high, when you inadvertently showed up at homeroom with all your clothes on backwards. Or maybe The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite was sandwiched between a CeCe Peniston song and Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven, to this day the most touching expression of love for a 4-year-old who fell to his death from a window ever to hit Top 40 radio -- as well as your first real foray into "grownup music."

I, and the reader(s) of REMring.com, look forward to your thoughts on such hits as Losing My Religion and Man On The Moon; I suggest, as a fun experiment, that you post your immediate impressions when you finally hear them, so the blogosphere can experience the raw sensation of discovery along with you.

Moving on, I applaud your positive response to Oh My Heart, despite your caveats, which I will address now. I happen to agree that Oh My Heart is a strong song, and, while yes, it may have been better had the band recorded it during their Stipe-as-master-crooner, Out Of Time-era heyday, that would have actually been impossible, as the song hadn't yet been written.

As for the lyrical reference to Houston, well, I would agree with you wholeheartedly if it weren't for the simple fact that the lyrical reference actually works here. It revisits a character and a time, updating a memorable phrase with its aftermath. That's very different from simply adding "part two!" to the lyrics -- which, by the way, is essentially what Metallica did for the song The Unforgiven II, their follow-up to another classic of your youth that helped shape you into the music fan you are today.

In all, I think we agree that Oh My Heart is a solid effort. I'm not sure if it is, as you assert, the best of the three tracks we've heard so far, but for me, that would be more of a compliment than it is for you. Still, I'm glad to have you on board. If you have any questions about the band, please don't hesitate. I suggest you try to see them on their next tour -- they put on a fantastic show, and I have a feeling you'd become a great enthusiast of their live oeuvre.

Love always,
Matt

RIB's 2010 Album of the Year: Laura Veirs, July Flame

2011-01-01T00:00:00.008-05:00

This year's race for Most Important Album, at least in my mind, came down to two records: Arcade Fire's The Suburbs and Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Of those, the overwhelming edge goes to Kanye, who so brilliantly transcended his own genre he easily won over a hip hop hater like myself.

But there's just one thing: My Album of the Year isn't intended to be given to the year's Most Important Album. It goes to my favorite album. And that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, was Laura Veirs' July Flame.

Kanye West's record was, and is, a megaton of fireworks and a landmark achievement that deserves all its accolades -- I picked it as Unwinnable's Album of the Year, after all -- but no record has meant as much to me as July Flame, which stayed fresh, spin after spin, all year long, finding new ways to hold onto me at every turn.

I bought July Flame when it came out last January, and it's been the record I've listened to the most just about every month since. While it only appeared on a few other people's year-end lists -- I know, because I've been looking for it -- it doesn't matter. July Flame tops mine.

Song after song is its own tiny treasure. I Can See Your Tracks is about knowing what path to avoid, and resigning yourself not to take it no matter how much it hurts. The title track treads similar ground, though this time it's about reaching out instead of falling back. Life Is Good Blues is about finding the right dance partner, while Summer Is The Champion is about rolling around in the grass with her (or him, if you're Laura Veirs). Carol Kaye is a fan's ode to a musical hero. Make Something Good, as I wrote in my nomination entry last month, is a prayer from creator to Creator -- a mission statement for an artist (or a human) of any stripe.

Each of July Flame's songs is so perfectly realized it stops mattering that the record lacks both the bravado and ambition of Kanye West's masterpiece. After all, an Album of the Year doesn't have to want to be an Album of the Year. Sometimes it's just right, as it is with July Flame -- start to finish, a record that feels like home. And that's something you can't measure intellectually.

Most Important is a title to strive for; Most Loved is something far less tangible, and, at the same time, all the more valuable.

The Innocence Mission Hates Me

2010-12-23T09:01:00.003-05:00

Why else would they stop touring completely and yet still post these on YouTube? Karen, Don and Mike: You don't have to play a one-off show in NYC like I've been begging you to; just invite me over to your house for coffee and serenade me for a couple hours. Thanks, your friend Matt.

It Happened Today, Not Yesterday

2010-12-21T14:13:00.017-05:00

In my previous entry, I responded to the incoherent ramblings of one Eric Zimmermann, a fine young man who means well, he really does, but lacks the synapses necessary to compile anything resembling a cogent argument, let alone blog about it. Case in point, his latest piece -- which you can find here -- which I merely skimmed. I suggest you avoid reading it while operating heavy machinery or if weeping openly would put you in a compromising position. Also, you can download the two new R.E.M. tracks we've been discussing, Discoverer and It Happened Today, here and here, respectively.

Here is my refutation:

Dear Erin Zimmerberg,

Before we get to your latest adorable but failed attempt at music criticism, I'd like to take a moment to congratulate you on your recent bat mitzvah. By no means would I want to embarrass you, but your journey into womanhood is not to be taken lightly, and I celebrate your achievement in this holy and time-honored rite of passage. I was surprised you didn't post any photos from the synagogue on your blog; Rabbi Remnikoff said you held up very well on your torah, and I expected you to at least share the snapshots your aunt Sheila took with her new PowerShot camera.

No matter. Everyone expresses their joy in different ways. I know your Bubbe took some Flip video of you doing the Electric Slide at the reception, which I'm sure you'll put on YouTube post haste.

Moving on to the musical stylings of R.E.M. and the fantasy world your brain is whisked off to whenever said band is mentioned, I have read and ruminated upon your latest treatise. You contend that rock music is not just a young man's game, so maybe you can enlighten us as to the other rock bands that were still producing essential material into their third decade. While I can rest my case with just four words -- Get On Your Boots -- I have made a list of one band per decade that I consider in R.E.M.'s class when viewed in the context of rock music history, and looked into their output in later years.

The Beatles (1960s)
Even though you've had The Fireman album on repeat for two years now, the actual Beatles disbanded after just eight years of recording. They did release two new tracks 34 years after their first record, on their Anthology collection, but unlike the tripe you seem to think the latest R.E.M. music is, they were forced to jam in guitars, drums and bass over vocals recorded by a man dead, at the time, for more than 15 years. Michael Stipe, on the other hand, has only been dead for five, six years tops. Advantage: R.E.M.

Led Zeppelin (1970s)
A mere 42 years after Led Zeppelin was formed, Robert Plant is again thrilling Grammy voters with roots music I'm sure is just great but have absolutely no time or interest in ever actually listening to. Zeppelin lasted about ten years before their drummer kicked the bucket. Unlike R.E.M., they did not survive the death of John Bonham by producing a modern day classic like the post-Bill Berry masterpiece Up. Instead, they disbanded and Plant and Jimmy Page embarked on solo careers in the '80s only their mothers followed. Advantage: R.E.M.

U2 (1980s)
Get On Your Boots. Advantage: R.E.M.

Of course, the importance of bands and the quality of their later work is subject to interpretation, but I think my point here is clear. And that point is:

If you are still expecting R.E.M. to release flawless, A-1 quality work, essential not only within their own catalogue but, by extension, within the rock music canon, you are, my friend, delusional.

No, Discoverer and It Happened Today are not mind-blowing works of pure genius. But they're halfway decent, which gives them a slight edge on George Harrison's highly acclaimed Cloud Nine album, despite the classic first single, I've Got My Mind Set On You, which, admittedly, set the world on fire. And that gem of a record came out a mere 25 years after the Beatles first unleashed Please Please Me unto the world.

Love,
Matt

R.E.M.'s Discoverer (First Reaction)

2010-12-16T22:57:00.020-05:00

An acquaintance of mine, Don Zimmerman, writes a satirical blog called REMRing.com, on which he pretends to know something about music. We've had our share of philosophical exchanges -- I highly recommend this one -- and now he has challenged me to an ongoing dialogue during the lead up to, and release of, R.E.M.'s forthcoming album, Collapse Into Now (street date: March 8, 2011).

Here is his opening salvo. I recommend reading it before proceeding to the response below. I also recommend downloading -- for free! -- the new R.E.M. song we discuss, Discoverer, here.

***

Dear Mr. Zimmer,

Let me first congratulate you on your many fine years of service to major league baseball, especially your championship seasons as Joe Torre's Yankee consigliere. Your services as bench coach provided much-appreciated wisdom and occasional comic relief, and for that I salute you.

Less admirable, though, is your misguided need to compare R.E.M. 2011 to the R.E.M. we both knew and obsessed over some 20-odd years ago. You even contradict yourself by assuming I will list previous R.E.M. albums the new song, Discoverer, reminds me of, in your ill-conceived pre-emptive strike at making a point about it lacking originality, while at the same time going out of your way to reference an R.E.M. track it doesn't remind you of. Both approaches are foolhardy.

Eric, if I can call you by your Internet pen name, I think you are forgetting one obvious, but indisputable fact:

R.E.M. is old.

In fact, the combined age of our three renowned electric minstrels from Athens, Ga., by my rough calculation, is approximately 376 years. And, as I've remarked on more than one occasion, Peter (I-dated-your-grandmother) Buck is, indeed, the motherfucking father of our country.

As hard as it may be to accept, no band of old farts has ever remained as vital as it was 20 years prior, let alone after 31 years, the anniversary R.E.M. will celebrate in April. To expect them to be would be both ridiculous and unfair -- two of the more unsavory qualities in your latest missive.

True, R.E.M. had long been an exception to this rule, making music I'd label essential well into their second decade. But no band is immune to the effects of time, and Michael Stipe would be a pretty immature prick if he still cared about the same things he did when he was in college. There are only so many songs one can write about paranoid schizophrenics attacking news anchors or one's own frustrations with being a media sensation. Eventually one becomes content -- and their art starts to suck.

As R.E.M. fans, we've been extremely lucky. We've only suffered through one truly awful record out of 14. We both know what that record is, and it will not be named here.

Granted, the new track's production leaves something to be desired and the lyrics can't hold a candle to Stipe during his heyday. Still, its chorus of shouts, coupled with Buck's blaring guitar, Mike Mills' thumping bass and Bill Rieflin's driving drumkit, is about as thrilling a moment as one can expect from a 31-year-old band -- and it's not even the first single, which all but a select few have yet to hear.

Discoverer, just because it is not What's The Frequency, Kenneth?, is neither a bad song, nor is it the worst opening cut of their distinguished career.

What it is, to you, is disappointing.

And that's your fault -- not R.E.M.'s.

RIB's 2010 Album of the Year Nominees

2010-11-25T08:15:00.021-05:00

UPDATE: I have debated doing this before but in 17 years I've never done it ... until now. I have added a late-breaking nominee to the Album of the Year list, a record that was released just three days before this list was posted. (Hint: It's nominee No. 3.)

***

I don't always say this, but I love when I'm able to: It's been a terrific year for music. So instead of rambling on by way of an intro, let's get straight to the five nominees for RIB's 2010 Album of the Year (listed "alphabetically" as they appear on iTunes):

THE NOMINEES

Arcade Fire -- The Suburbs

If you know me well, you've probably heard me speak about seeing R.E.M.'s video for What's The Frequency, Kenneth? for the first time. The video, in a nutshell: A newly bald Michael Stipe makes love to a microphone stand while his band rocks out in front of what is eventually revealed to be a suburban home, projected onto a giant screen.

I appreciated the irony of a band selling its music to suburban kids longing to be just like them, beaming videos into our homes just as many of us were desperately trying to get the hell out.

Still, that was just a four-minute video, and while a lot of bands have written odes to suburbia in various forms, Arcade Fire's The Suburbs is instant canon. It's a deep, nuanced look at growing up in the 'burbs that is both critical and sentimental, the work of a new generation coming into its own, one you can easily imagine emerging from the house in the Kenneth video.

The Montreal rock band has cornered the market on songs about growing up -- Pitchfork suggests a drinking game based on how many times Win Butler sings the word "kids" on this record -- though it's a tad less romantic than it is at times on their debut Funeral. The Suburbs is sometimes adoring, sometimes angry -- and almost always transcendent.

Because growing up is part joy, part pain, part apathy, my first nominee is both a savage takedown and a loving ode. On the album's best song, Sprawl II, Regine Chassagne laments strip malls as far as the eye can see over one of the most infectious, Blondie-like beats you'll hear on an indie rock record. And that's just as it should be.

Broken Social Scene -- Forgiveness Rock Record

Four of the five nominees this year achieve greatness either as tomes on teenage angst, twilight drives into the night, rolls in summer lawns, or welcome disappearances into the woods. The fifth one, Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record, has a wider, in some instances more overtly political scope, one a bit harder to pin down. Still, it's just as much a nominee for this basic reason: It freakin' rocks.

Don't get me wrong, Broken Social Scene's latest by no means lacks depth. There is a heck of lot to absorb here ("forgiveness" being the ostensible theme); like the band itself, the record is a conglomeration of a lot of different participants and ideas, a mix tape that isn't actually a mix tape. Chase Scene is both a thrilling and nerve-wracking promise to fight for one's life (especially jarring after what seems to be its moral opposite in the opening track, World Sick). Sentimental X's is a melancholy ode from "a friend you used to call" who's resigned to an "off and on" love. Ungrateful Little Father is either about deadbeat dads -- or Steve Jobs ("Ungrateful little motherfuck, built you up a brand new breakthrough device").

Still, for me, the record's highlights, though by no means bubblegum pop, are songs I'd play in the car when I wanted to tap on the steering wheel. World Sick is not an uplifting song; lyrically, it's quite the opposite. Yet I found myself singing "I get world sick, every time I take a stand" as if it were a proclamation instead of an admission. Along the exact same lines, Texico B*****s is clearly about what it's about (change the "i" to an "a"), yet it's also a misogynistic breakup song -- with a fantastic beat -- if you want it to be.

Which leads me to my favorite song on Forgiveness Rock Record. Meet Me In The Basement is a tour de force, the opening track on my Best of 2010 mix. But guess what? For a guy who lives and dies on lyrics, Meet Me In The Basement is an instrumental.

Rock on.

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

You can take my total apathy toward rap and hip hop as a sign that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about when I call Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a landmark record.

Or you can believe me doubly -- since I never would have believed myself had I seen this nomination even a couple weeks ago.

West is an arrogant, self-centered, foulmouthed sonofabitch, which is part of the reason this record is so motherfucking brilliant.

Not only does his bravado provide the theme of the record -- basically the soundtrack to his own superhero existence -- but only that same extraordinary ego could have driven him to attempt to make a record as ambitious as this one. He's made his share of references to Michael Jackson over the years -- there's more than one on this record, and the video for Runaway (filmed in Prague!) was inspired by Thriller --- and, no matter how many times he may deny having called himself the new King of Pop in the wake of MJ's death, well ... this record speaks for itself.

Laura Veirs -- July Flame

As I emailed a buddy recently, I have an intolerable crush on Laura Veirs. But although I've subsequently seen her live and met her briefly, her looks have nothing to do with it; I fell in deep like, sight unseen, the first time through July Flame and my adoration for this album has maintained a more-than-steady burn ever since.

According to iTunes, I Can See Your Tracks is my most-played song of 2010 -- an astounding 41 spins at press time, significantly more than the runner-up -- and it's more than worthy. On the surface, it's a simple folk song expertly played and sung; in reality, it's a heartbreaking song about longing.

In a similar vein, the entire record, start to finish, is filled with simple pleasures, expertly crafted whether they be joyful, sad, or somewhere in-between -- a chest full of treasures with little rival since the heyday of The Innocence Mission. (And if you know me, you know that's quite a compliment.)

Carol Kaye is a fan's tribute to a venerable session musician I might never have Googled otherwise. Life Is Good is about dancing to a band playing with divine fire -- and knowing those around you are feeling the same thing you are. Make Something Good is a simple closing prayer from creator to Creator. And did you know a July flame is a kind of peach?

Shearwater -- The Golden Archipelago

The first time I heard The Golden Archipelago, I was sitting on the deck of a ferry boat headed from Phuket to the island of Ko Phi Phi in southern Thailand. The album cover, too small to completely make out on my iPhone screen in the blinding sunlight, seemed a carbon copy of the view I had across the sea.

Little did I know I was squinting at a photo of Bannerman's Island, which I've passed hundreds of times on the Metro-North train from Poughkeepsie.

What I thought at the time was the perfect metaphor for this album -- new, mysterious horizons set to Jonathan Meiburg's declaration, "You are running from a rising tide, you are castawaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyys!" -- turned out to be a whole lot closer to home.

That's always been Shearwater's strength. On Rook, the band's last record, which won Album of the Year in 2008, there's a song about the death of an undersea leviathan that somehow brings you back to the squid and the whale in midtown Manhattan. On The Golden Archipelago, there's … well, take your pick. Meridian is a long drive into the evening. Hidden Lakes is the icy snowfall of Thor Harris and Kim Burke playing the bells in tandem. And, last but not least, False Sentinel is a plucked string that puts you in a lighthouse on a rainy night, high above the waves, somewhere you're sure you've been before.

The Tallest Man on Earth -- The Wild Hunt

Kristian Matsson is much closer to five feet tall than six, but I've never seen a man and a guitar fill a concert hall the way he did at Webster Hall this year. The Tallest Man on Earth, alone on stage, inspired a packed room to crow along to Love Is All, his and their "oh-oh oh-oh"s putting exclamation points on the best anti-love song of 2010 (with apologies to The Magnetic Fields' You Must Be Out of Your Mind).

Matsson can fill a record, too, as he does on The Wild Hunt. The title track is an anthem for travelers of all kinds. King of Spain is the wind through your hair, feeling on top of the world. Like The Wheel is a prayer for understanding and strength. Burden of Tomorrow is about banishing your demons for love.

I have to admit, my interest in The Tallest Man on Earth was in its infancy that night at Webster Hall, enough so that I found the audience's more than typical excitement prior to the show a bit odd.

But the fever built as he took the stage, a man with a guitar, and pretty soon, I was a believer, too.

HONORABLE MENTION

Ane Brun -- Sketches
Antony & The Johnsons -- Swanlights
Beach House -- Teen Dream
Belle & Sebastian -- Write About Love
Best Coast -- Crazy For You
Crystal Castles -- Crystal Castles (II)
Damien Jurado -- Saint Bartlett
Horse Feathers -- Thistled Spring
The Innocence Mission -- My Room In The Trees
Jonsi -- Go
The Morning Benders -- Big Echo
The National -- High Violet
Neil Young -- Le Noise
Peter Gabriel -- Scratch My Back
Rogue Wave -- Permalight
She & Him -- Volume Two
Sun Kil Moon -- Admiral Fell Promises
Tired Pony -- The Place We Ran From
Warpaint -- The Fool
Wolf Parade -- Expo 86

Okkervil River to open for Wilco

2009-05-27T14:12:00.003-04:00

Okkervil River opening for Wilco? Pretty cool show.

Unfortunately, we raced to Ticketmaster.com and bought two Wilco tix for Keyspan Park thinking Okkervil was playing that show, too. Pays to actually read entire news items. So...who's coming with?

In related news, a few days ago we put together a brief obit for the Daily News on Jay Bennett. Should have posted it on RIB but didn't (as we do almost as a rule). You can read it here.

The Album of the Year site launches!

2009-05-27T13:52:00.003-04:00

So yes, we're still alive.

As part of our NYU Web Dev class, we've put together an Album of the Year Web site and are now hosting it on the brand new and glorious mattmarrone.com.

If you'd like the check out the Album of the Year site, click the image to the right. If you're using IE, just kill yourself now and get it over with.

The site is fully functional, so register, login and comment. We reserve all rights to delete any remarks that aren't filled with glowing praise.

5 Reasons To Be Excited About Jan. 20

2009-01-13T22:29:00.012-05:00

We're looking forward to next Tuesday with great anticipation - and so should you. The date has been marked with a gold star on our calendar for some time. Here's why:

1. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast

NPR's streaming of Andrew Bird's entire new album at their Web site has whet many an appetite for the next release from one of the best artists around. We've resisted listening all the way through - we're old-fashioned like that - but Oh No is a great leadoff track. A lot is expected from the whistling multi-instrumentalist.

His last record, Armchair Apocrypha, was near-perfect and better than The Mysterious Production of Eggs, his most popular, in our opinion. Plasticities is No. 6 all-time on our "Most Played" list in iTunes, and the whole album is packed with quiet grooves that don't grab you the first time but ultimately become part of your inner beat. The bar is very high.

2. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light

Speaking of bars-set-high, Antony and the Johnsons' haunting EP from last year - Another World - gives fans high hopes for the full length, which features the EP's title track, a longing for escape while mourning what would be lost in the tradeoff. Another one that is actually available already via their Web site - a pre-order of the CD gets you the mp3s now - and another one we've resisted, at least so far.

(Part of the reason is that we want Jan. 20 to be a test run for downloading new albums over 3G from iTunes on our way to work. No more skipping coffee because we're busy downloading and syncing on Tuesday mornings...we hope. Funny how the other reason is that we're "old-fashioned.")

Antony was a little more subdued on the Another World EP - none of his characteristic vibrato workouts which have been known to drive certain exes insane - but we didn't mind. But on this one, we say let loose! We loved the darkness of Another World - but maybe this one can be autumn instead of midnight on Halloween.

3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Up until now, we've had no interest in this band. But after ignoring all the hype surrounding Fleet Foxes (which we play on repeat now, over and over and over and over), we're going to give the band a shot. Especially since our buddy Eric says it's the best thing since Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And he was pretty obsessed with that one (as were we - it was our 2002 album of the year).

Pitchfork, too, gives it a 9.6 and calls it their most accessible. An entry point for a new fan? We'll see. And if you're already a fan? Then you've probably downloaded it already.

4. Bon Iver - Blood Bank

It's only an EP, so maybe not enough to prove whether For Emma, Forever Ago was a fluke or the start of a long-term love affair, but we'll take it.

It's kind of a win-win; If it's great, you can be thrilled. If it's not so great, well, it'll only be a small disappointment.

5. Some political thing is happening

Oh yes, that too.

RIB's 2008 Album of the Year: Shearwater - Rook

2008-12-31T20:16:00.013-05:00

Sometimes choosing our Album of the Year is a no-brainer, but not this time around.

Over the last few weeks, a couple of front-runners emerged but if you had asked us just a couple days ago which of our Top 3 - Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Lie Down in the Light or Shearwater's Rook - would win out in the end, we'd have thrown our hands up in the air. All three have what it takes - Bon Iver's record is the year's warmest blanket, Billy's is one of the finest works of this decade's best songwriter and Shearwater's is as haunting and as deep as rock gets.

But this morning - decision day - we woke up and our winner was clear. No album this year was played more often, more diced and dissected, more quoted and proselytized, more treasured and enjoyed, than Rook. So much so that we've overdone it a bit - we're looking forward to the albums that will grab us in 2009 to give Meiburg and company a well-deserved rest.

All three of our favorite records of 2008 were introspective and gorgeous, but perhaps there was one element that gave Shearwater the advantage: Rook rocks. Not quite as much as its predecessor, Palo Santo, and not as much as we'd have liked it to - and not as much as we'd like the NEXT ONE to - but it was a nice change of pace to shuffle from Bon Iver's best track - Re: Stacks - and Bonnie Billy's standout cut - You Remind Me of Something - to Shearwater's knock-your-socks-off anthem Century Eyes or the ringing electric pulse of Rooks.

Only time will tell if Rook is still No. 1 years from now, but that's the beauty of music - and the risk of choosing an Album of the Year. It's also what makes the choice special - we might hate Shearwater in a few years, but we'll always have the memory of how much we loved them right now.

(Happy New Year!)

Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power: "Independence Day" @ Bottom of the Hill (11/11/08)

2008-12-07T13:33:00.006-05:00

Decided to play around with iMovie. So...here's an audio clip of Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power playing Independence Day, live at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on Nov. 11, 2008, along with still photos (audio and photos taken with an iPhone). Both Matthew and Geoff G. attended the show, which was fantastic. Even met Vic briefly outside the men's room afterwards.

RIB's (of course belated) 2008 Album of the Year Nominees

2008-12-07T12:49:00.018-05:00

A little late for Turkey Day as the tradition goes, we know, but here they are, in alphabetical order. As you can see, we kept it real short this year.

(A full-on audio podcast version, if you're interested, is available as well. Just email us or tweet @thebigm.)

Antony & The Johnsons - Another World

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down in the Light

The Magnetic Fields - Distortion

The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride

Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

R.E.M. - Accelerate

Shearwater - Rook

Honorable Mentions:
The Baseball Project - Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse
Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power And The Amorphous Strums - Dark Developments
Kimya Dawson - Alphabutt
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
The Fireman - Electric Arguments
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The Innocence Mission - Street Map (EP)
Randy Newman - Harps and Angels
She & Him - Volume One

RIB's spectacularly belated Twitter review: Bon Iver @ Bowery Ballroom

2008-09-22T11:11:00.014-04:00

Here, in reverse-order Twitter posts and iPhone photos, is RIB's review of Bon Iver/Bowerbirds at Bowery Ballroom, from a long, long time ago (July 29, to be exact).

RIB (Belated) First Listen: Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs

2008-07-21T11:43:00.009-04:00

Moni sent this in eons ago but we've been too lazy to post. We're almost too lazy to post it now, too, but we don't want to cause an international incident. However, we can't help but include Moni's own email preface: "Is it too obvious that I was drunk when I wrote half of this? Anyway, I dunno if this review is usable in any way, and I am wondering the same about that damn album. Grr." That being said...

RIB gently asked me if I wanted to review Death Cab For Cutie's latest record, "Narrow Stairs." Right now, I'm not so happy with it.

It's not that I think it's a bad record, not at all. I'm just a little frustrated with it. The album does have its beautiful moments, smart instrumentations, lyrics to scratch your head over, as well as more sweet bass lines than any other Death Cab album to date. It also has many things I know from earlier Death Cab albums - the quiet, almost serene intro track, Ben Gibbard's penchant for repeating words/phrases (and in the case of "I Will Possess Your Heart" I found that repetition quite fitting) and that somewhat muted, fluffy guitar sound.

Overall it's not too different from earlier Death Cab albums, despite claims that this is their "prog" album. There are moments that I enjoy every time I listen to the record, like the piano and bass intro from IWPYH, Gibbard's vocals on "Talking Bird" that seem to be floating above the instruments, the lyrics on "Your New Twin-Sized Bed."

"Narrow Stairs" could be a great record - it sounds great, it's smart, well made, it works your brain and your heart. But for some reason it doesn't really touch me. I am missing something that every one else who loves this record has found, and if you have any idea what I might be missing, please let RIB know.

R.E.M. (MSG, June 19)

2008-06-22T00:39:00.007-04:00

Back in the early nineties, Michael Stipe would talk in interviews about hanging out with the late River Phoenix. He would usually bring up that River always wore his sunshades inside, as if River was trying to hide. Or to keep the world out.

For the last half dozen times I've seen R.E.M. live over the past 7 years, Stipe has worn his Daryl Hannah replicant makeup. It, for all intents, served the same purpose as River's sunshades. This Thursday, he left it off.

In fact, Stipe at Madison Square Garden didn't --

- Strip

- Mope

- Read his lyrics from a nightstand

What he and Peter and Bill (and Scott and Bill) did was rock. Rock a very large room for two hours. It was great. And it was very different than the R.E.M. shows we'd been used to.

The post - millennial concerts up until now all seemed to be (in retrospect) performed almost in defense of the material on Up, on Reveal, on Around the Sun. Throughout, the band was trying to conjure a moment of transcendent beauty with new songs like High Speed Train, or Falls to Climb. R.E.M. wanted to prove so badly that they still had it. And everyone had just shown up for a rock concert.

And that disconnect, between people in their late twenties and thirties, who associated the music with their youth, and the band on stage who desperately wanted late career legitimacy (the kind U2 enjoys in thier third decade of performing) directly lead to the Stipe & Co. of old. I'm a serious fucking lyrical master -- see my music stand. I'm a record company whore -- here, I lost my shirt. I'm deep -- you can't see my eyes. And maybe I can't see you.

Needless to say, that's all disappeared. On Thursday, the house lights were up more than they'd ever been, and you felt like the band really saw the audience this time. And the audience really saw them. Accelerate was a reinvigorating album (and tour) on so many levels. Foremost, it redefined the band: R.E.M. is a quirky, unpretentious, ridiculous, angry, political rock band. The most important word is "rock". It's good to have you back, boys.

(image from workinpana)

Album of the Year race heats up

2008-06-16T22:04:00.015-04:00

We'd like to write about the neat-o Mountain Goats cartoon we got from Brianna or speculate about the fact that the Innocence Mission just posted on their Web site that "Right now we are recording some new songs. We hope to have a record finished later this year" - but we really would be remiss if we didn't get a word or two up about the two records that have been wearing out our stylus and/or sucking the last bit of juice out of out six-year-old iPod as it makes its way toward retirement (it's eligible for a full pension on July 11), starting with:

SHEARWATER- ROOK

So if you've received an email from us anytime in the last year-plus, you've noticed the phrase "There's something singing in the ice" at the bottom. That's a Shearwater line, from their last album, Palo Santo, which has been praised to the skies on this blog.

Well, if you've gotten an email from us in the past two days, you might have noticed that our signature has changed. The new line - "Look with century eyes till they make you go blind" - is from Shearwater's new one, Rook. Jonathan Meiburg, the lead singer/songwriter, formed the band with Will Sheff, as a side project to Okkervil River. For their first couple albums, Sheff and Meiburg were co-leads - until Palo Santo, when Meiburg was given the reins and the band soared. So much, in fact, that Meiburg left Okkervil to devote himself fully to Shearwater.

We're glad he did.

Okkervil River is a good band (the Stage Names was one of our favorite records last year), but Shearwater is a great band, and they prove Palo Santo was no fluke by releasing a record that somehow is even more beautiful. We're not gonna say it's better or worse overall, just that it is a worthy follow-up. Rooks and Century Eyes grab you on first listen, but slower songs like The Hunter's Star, The Snow Leopard and I Was a Cloud keep you coming back. The first track, On the Death of the Waters, is about a shipwreck and, just before reaching a dramatic climax musically, Meiburg sings, "Turn your bow to the biggest wave/but your angel's on holiday/and that wave rises slowly/and breaks!" and his voice obscures the words enough throughout to make you want to print the lyrics and read along. Doing so proves our bird-lovin' friends are now firmly established as one of the best bands of this decade.

BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY - LIE DOWN IN THE LIGHT

Speaking of the decade's best, it's going to take quite a lot in the next year and a half to unseat Will Oldham as this decade's best songwriter. The winner of the 2003 Album of the Year has been extremely prolific and has now released three records that are as good, if not better, than his winning effort, Master and Everyone. (He's also become somewhat of an accomplished actor, and yes Becca, we've developed a serious man-crush on him to boot.)

Lie Down in the Light could be his best yet. We read somewhere that this is an upbeat, countrified anti-I See A Darkness, and we agree. The songs are celebratory - "you remind me of something, the song that I am, and you sing me back into myself...and dancing goes on in the kitchen until dawn, to my favorite song that has no end" - and every one is a winner, packed with lines to treasure. Though it's still so new, Oldham has another old-friend record under his belt.

***

So back to the title of this post. It's always great to have so much to choose from, especially this early on, when we think of the year's best. Palo Santo finished second in 2006, Oldham's The Letting Go was third. Despite the competition, we think top 3 finishes for both artists are certainly not out of the question in 2008.

Ya gotta love it

2008-06-01T21:04:00.001-04:00

The Posies in Vienna, Austria (4/19/08)

2008-05-17T22:54:00.008-04:00

After too long an absence, RIB is proud to post the following concert review from our lone international (and female!) correspondent, Moni. Moni, as you may know, is the world's foremost Ken Stringfellow stalker. Her review this time? Why Stringfellow's band, the Posies, of course.

Band: The Posies (acoustic)
Date: 04/19/08
Venue: Flex, Vienna, Austria
Rating: 4/5

I have waited to see an acoustic Posies show since I bought the band’s sophomore album, “Dear 23.” I got a used copy in Athens, Ga., signed by Mr. Stringfellow himself, who wrote, “Pls. take me home!” I just had to do him that favor.

The first thing that captured me were the phenomenal harmony vocals of Stringfellow and Jon Auer all over the record.

My only previous time seeing the band was a couple of years ago in Munich, in full-band mode and ear-shatteringly loud - at one point it was almost impossible to recognize the songs. Harmony vocals? Yeah, maybe. I couldn’t really tell from all the white noise coming from the speakers. Until this show at the Flex, the Posies hadn’t been to Vienna for almost a decade.

So the whole way to the venue I kept wondering if I'd be disappointed. Truth be told, the show didn’t meet my expectations at all. I wasn’t disappointed, but I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. I was certainly a bit let down by the low turnout - I had expected the venue, which holds a few hundred people, to be more or less full, but there were maybe not more than 60-80 people there. We made quite a lot of noise between the songs, though, and I had the impression Jon and Ken felt very welcome.

Overall, I was expecting something more loose and more wild. (I know, how wild can an acoustic show get? Still, leave it to those guys to turn any show into happy, drunk debauchery.) But I guess that's a small complaint, since, as laid back as the show was, it was very sharp - I have no idea whether the two of them still have to rehearse after all these years; seeing them make music together looks and sounds incredibly effortless, but without ever sounding stale or having an air of mere routine. Those brilliant vocal harmonies sounded as great as ever, especially on beautifully melodic songs like “Every Bitter Drop,” where they were pure bliss. And while I prefer Jon’s guitar playing, Ken’s voice is simply amazing. That man sounds like he could hold a note past the point where any other singer would’ve gone blue in the face.

They worked their way through songs from every album and even a song from their EP, “Nice Cheekbones and a PhD,” and even “Believe in Something Other” from their debut album, “Failure” - just not a single song from “Dear23." Maybe I’ve lined up too much bad karma? After almost two hours, the Posies closed their set with the nicely sinister “Coming Right Along."

In his blog Ken later wrote, “It’s these relaxed shows that I love the best, where playing with Jon feels like putting on your favorite old leather jacket, and effort is minimal for maximum effect. And for sure people loved it. We had great praise after the show from Daniel from Nada Surf, who was home between tours.”

Yes, Ken, we liked it lots. I’ll take one point off for the complete lack of songs from “Dear 23," though. Maybe next time? I just hope it won't take them another ten years to come back.

Biding time 'til Lost comes on

2008-04-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

Kimya Dawson @ Webster Hall (4/6/08)

2008-04-07T11:23:00.012-04:00

Kimya Dawson has reached the pinnacle of her fame with the Juno soundtrack (although a second soundtrack is reportedly coming soon) after achieving cult status with The Moldy Peaches. Her child-like voice, her simple guitar picking and cutesy lyrical style could easily seem immature and start to become grating if you don't pay close enough attention; but if you do, and if you go along for the ride, you'll find her songs are plenty rewarding, inspiring and just plain amusing - especially in the way they address non-conformity and adolescence (such as I Like Giants - "I like giants, especially girl giants/because all girls feel too big sometimes, regardless of their size" and Eleventeen - "You may feel strange, well you are an angel/stuck in tight pants, stuck at a high school dance/stuck doing people things, not knowing you have wings").

Her show last night at Webster Hall began with a pair of opening acts that were both entertaining; first up was a French quartet called L'Orchidee D'Hawai, whose album we meant to pick up on the way out but the show ran late and Becca especially needed to get back home. L'Orchidee D'Hawai played songs in Polish, Italian and English (there was probably French mixed in there as well, but we can't exactly recall at the moment), in what they said was only their second show ever in the U.S. They combined an Eastern European/Gogol Bordello-vibe with surf rock and some kick-ass drumming by a very entertaining fellow on the skins.

Next up was Dawson's baby daddy, Angelo Spencer, who rocked out pretty hard despite playing alone and following D'Hawai. The highlight for us was "a brand new song" we would think would be titled "Music is My Sweat" which found him setting a bass guitar on fire (not literally, sadly) to an anthem tune akin to "Music is My Boyfriend" but without the bubblegum.

Kimya took the stage at about 10:45 and her entire set was acoustic and pretty quiet, certainly compared to the openers. She was joined on stage by Matt (Matty Pop Star) Tobey and Erin Tobey, who sang along, played ukulele and xylophone and also played a song or two each solo (Matty Pop Star was a bit too cute and heavy-handed in his songwriting for our taste but we came home and immediately downloaded the song Erin played, called Secret Letters, which was a bit more entertaining live than in recorded form, but a fine song nonetheless). Note: If you're a Kimya fan, these are the Tobeys Kimya refers to in Tire Swing ("I never met a Tobey that I didn't like").

For us, the highlights of Kimya's set were the segment in which she played tunes from her upcoming children's album, Alphabutt, which were hilarious, and the end of the set and encore, where musician friends of Kimya's dressed in bags joined her on stage for a choreographed dance to Loose Lips and I Like Giants, plus a series of covers including The Greatest Love of All and The Sun Will Come Out, Tomorrow (which provided the lone encore that Kimya said was unrehearsed, and featured Kimya's toddler, Panda, appearing on stage right and clapping along).

Despite some obnoxious drunks yelling for Loose Lips throughout the show (we might have run into them later on 14th St.; two young girls barely able to walk straight loudly singing the song, who told us they loved us "even more" when we surprised them by joining in for the "fuck this war!" line), it was well worth getting home in the wee hours of the morning. We always enjoy Webster Hall, the crowd skewed very young, fun and enthusiastic and though Kimya is definitely a fad at this point, we've enjoyed her music since her moldy days and expect to stick with her.

Radio Free ROSCOE?

2008-04-01T23:25:00.006-04:00

So the Today R.E.M. quiz is royally fucked up (or purposely fucked up because it's April Fool's Day?). Click below to enlarge.

Also, we actually got one of their questions wrong, which would be a shock if not for the fact that THEY got it wrong. R.E.M. may mean "Rapid Eye Movement" in the dictionary - but the band's name is just three letters and dots. (Serves us right for overestimating Today's quizmaster.)

One satisfied customer

2008-04-01T14:51:00.007-04:00

Click to enlarge.

UPDATE: Who wants to play Spot the Matt?

Want a clue?

R.E.M. on The Today Show (Happy Accelerate Day!)

2008-04-01T10:44:00.011-04:00

If you weren't following my frequent twitters (tsk tsk), here's how it went (and yes, I'm dropping the usual "we" for this post):

I left Hobo at 4:30 a.m., but slow orange-line trains kept me from Rock Center until around 6. Only a handful of people on line at that point, but I still couldn't have arrived at a better time, because I got to share a spot on line with Matt and Mary Lou, and soon got a tap on my shoulder and met Jen behind us. All Murmursians, all great people - and all new friends.

We were around the corner from the stage, but not long after we arrived we heard an instrumental Losing My Religion off in the distance. Some nice folks held our spot in line while we snuck over to watch the band's first soundcheck, this one in the rainy dark under a tent. We walked up close to the stage but were shooed away by security. I took some video over my shoulder as we walked back toward the line, and then took some more photos from further away.

Eventually, we were allowed to file into the plebian section, which was separated from the stage by the VIP/Al Roker walkway area, though we were close enough to be satisfied (and actually were allowed to get closer right before the concert began).

>

Matt left us after a second soundcheck to run to work/buy fanclub presale tickets for MSG, and Mary Lou, Jen and I passed the time making fun of The Today Show, making fun of Jen for watching The Today Show, and learning interesting facts about Barack Obama (he prefers basketball to bowling; who knew?). We also made faces for the camera and my mom called to tell me she saw me on TV (I haven't seen it yet, but it's on the DVR). Eventually, after a brief run-through of Losing My Religion again, the end of the 8 o'clock hour began to approach and Matt Lauer introduced the band with a brief interview on stage.

I believe he said Rolling Stone called Accelerate "their best record ever," which is not true if he did (David Fricke called it one of their best); anyway, his comment seemed to embarrass the guys. Then it was time for Losing My Religion proper, which really got going on Buck's mandolin solo, as usual. Just as they started playing, it began to rain, and there was a great moment where Stipe pointed to the sky and smiled. Supernatural Superserious and Hollow Man rounded out the set and both sounded vibrant and really got the crowd going. Perhaps not my choices for singles, but they really worked in that venue, so maybe Warner Bros. knows a thing or two I don't.

Right after they finished up, Lauer made his closing remarks and they began tearing down the stage. We were hoping for another song perhaps later on, but it wasn't to be. Mary Lou suggested finding a record store, so we asked a cop and he directed us to the nearest Best Buy, where we grabbed a copy each and toasted to R.E.M. and new friendships. We also gushed and gushed about R.E.M. and didn't have anyone roll their eyes at us, which is a rare and glorious thing indeed.

Overall, the perfect way to celebrate Accelerate Day. Here's a video clip as I head back to bed for a much-needed nap...apologies for not being much of a photographer in the previous photos or in the vid below...

Follow our Today adventures tomorrow on Twitter

2008-03-31T20:52:00.012-04:00

We're getting up at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow (probably well before actually) and trekking in to catch the R.E.M. mini-concert on the Today show. We'll be Twittering our progress via cell phone, so if you have nothing better to do, follow along here.

In the meantime, watch this performance of a song that has yet to land on any of their albums but hopefully will eventually (who thought R.E.M. would ever be this cool again?):

#89.3 - R.E.M. - On the fly
Uploaded by lablogotheque

RIB thaws out

2008-03-30T13:37:00.017-04:00

Okay, so you might not think RIB buys records anymore. Well, we do. And we’ve bought a ton recently. Certainly since the last time we actually wrote a record review here. We’ll never get fully caught up, but here’s a look at five albums we’ve picked up in the past few weeks:

R.E.M. – Accelerate

Obviously, we didn’t buy this one yet, as it doesn’t come out ‘til Tuesday. But we’ve preordered three copies for friends and family and will be dutifully grabbing a hard copy of our own after we brave the cold to catch their performance on the Today show on release day morning.

A lot has changed since we shared our first impressions of the album, following a once-over at Warner Bros. headquarters. We’ve now lived with the album for a couple weeks, and we are happy to report that we are absolutely thrilled with it.

Accelerate is not only the best R.E.M. album in a decade (which isn’t saying much), it’s an honest-to-goodness classic.

For the first time in the Post-Bill Era, this band is rocking again, thank God, and they sound fantastic. After the mediocre and mostly forgettable Reveal and the giant turd that was Around the Sun, we angered many of our good buddies at Murmurs by calling for them to hang it up on a nearly daily basis. Especially on ATS, the band could do little right; the production was horrendous, the lyrics embarrassing, the music dull and lazy.

But if Accelerate could only have existed because of ATS – which we believe is the case – then it was worth it. The trainwreck lit a fire under this band, got them to finally drop Pat McCarthy as their producer (open letter of thanks to Jacknife Lee forthcoming) and start writing urgent rock songs and record them in days instead of weeks and months. It also helped give Stipe a stiff kick in the pants, and he found something to say again (even Sing for the Submarine, which we hated originally, has charmed us completely – and, lyrically, it is a direct reaction to ATS).

We’re actually shocked that the band was able to turn out a record this good after being so unbearably lame for so long. But they did – the music is tight, it has drive and a pulse, it’s packed with good ideas well-executed - and it’s once again a great time to be an R.E.M. fan. In 34 brilliant minutes, the band goes from being over-the-hill and fading fast to one of the world’s best rock bands again.

If we sound like we’re doing for Stipe & Co. what Monica did for Bill Clinton, then so be it. Love may be blind, but they’ve earned ours again.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

Not to keep gushing, but…

Bon Iver is our first great discovery of 2008. We may be a bit slow coming to the party (Bob Boilen has been gushing for awhile; we took our time getting to it), but we’re early enough to think of this as a personal treasure, and it earns that distinction.

Justin Vernon, who named the band from the French “bon hiver” or “good winter” and sings in a soulful falsetto, wrote the album while living in a cabin in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin after his previous band’s breakup, and it shows both in the content and the sound of the music. Slow, beautiful, warm, intimate.

It’s worth Googling the lyrics when you can’t make them out. Take this from our favorite track, Re: Stacks, a song about internal spring cleaning:

This my excavation and today is kumran
Everything that happens is from now on
This is pouring rain
This is paralyzed

…

I needed to replace
The fountain in the front yard is rusted out
All my love was down
In a frozen ground

There's a black crow sitting across from me; his wiry legs are crossed
And he's dangling my keys; he even fakes a toss
Whatever could it be
That has brought me to this loss?

…

This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization
It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
Your love will be
Safe with me

At the end of the song, the album’s last track, you can make it out as he gets up from his seat and walks over to the phone. The winter is over and it’s time to reach out to the world again.

The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride

We just picked this one up yesterday (finally!) and we have not been disappointed. There are soaring moments here (Sax Rohmer #1 and Heretic Pride especially), and at least one song that hits home enough to qualify as our personal theme song of the moment, Autoclave:

I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam
And no one in her right mind would make my home her home

Another very strong effort from Mr. Darnielle, who grabbed the five spot in our 2006 Album of the Year countdown.

Counting Crows – Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings

Loathe Adam Duritz all you want, but Counting Crows made two of our favorite albums of all time in August and Everything After and This Desert Life.

They’ve also made some crap (I’m talking to you, 2002’s Hard Candy).

SN&SM falls into the latter category. David (Mr. Gillette) Lowery does a great job again on the production, but Duritz is impossible to stomach on this one, both for his lyrics and his delivery. The way he sings on this album at times, we feel like slapping him, either for a shallow, cutesy earnestness or an annoying bravado. In Los Angeles, he talks through the last minute or so, doing his best Brother Love impression (“No more Boston…no more Nashville…no more Oakland! Oh baby, come on out to the sea. Come on talk a walk down Sunset with me! Oh we’re gonna get drunk, find us some skinny girls and go street walking! Street walking, baby, in Los Angeles! And man it's a really good place to find yourself a taco.”) and he sings the following pseudo-political nonsense in Cowboys:

Everyone's in bed tonight/But nobody can sleep/'Cause all the satellites are watching through our windows/She says she doesn't love me, like, like she's acting/But it's as if she isn't talking/'Cause Mr. Lincoln's head is bleeding/On the front row while she's speaking

Huh?

They Might Be Giants – Here Come the 123s

Another children’s album to go along with No! and Here Come the ABCs and probably the first disappointment of the lot.

Not that it’s particularly bad or anything, but none of the songs have grabbed us really. Apartment Four, Seven Days Of The Week (I Never Go To Work) and Figure Eight are the only numbers we'd be able to recall off the top of our heads, and none of them are essential.

Maybe it's too much kids stuff already, but No! and ABCs were both a riot.

***

We’ve also picked up back catalogue from The Decemberists, Shearwater, Okkervil River, The National,Cat Stevens, Ryan Adams and several others, but our fingers hurt from typing.

Cracker: The Best a Band Can Get?

2008-03-30T10:54:00.002-04:00

What should we think about this? Geoff, any thoughts?

RIB joins Twitter

2008-03-30T10:45:00.002-04:00

Okay, after lurking for the better part of a year, we're now on Twitter. Username: thebigm.

(Geoff G. has already joined.)

Two members of R.E.M. are...STRAIGHT!

2008-03-21T22:20:00.000-04:00

Accelerate Leak

2008-03-18T00:06:00.004-04:00

Yup, it leaked while RIB was drinking for three straight days this weekend in Vegas. So far, we really really like it. Even the hated-it-on-first-listen Sing for the Submarine. Our band is back!

Now we're gonna pass out because we need to go back to work tomorrow (er, today).

In which RIB gets our sister to publicly thank us for a Gillian Welch tote bag

2008-03-07T19:52:00.009-05:00

(This guest blog entry comes from, as you might have guessed from the title of this entry, RIB's sister, Becca, a nursing student at NYU (soon to be a nursing student at Columbia).)

Nothing can make you ache to start driving south more than the sweet voice of Gillian Welch - save for homemade biscuits and honey butter, of course.

My brother, the infamous blogger and my musical guidance counselor, introduced me to Gillian many years ago, and ever since I've fallen deep in awe at her sound. Just recently, after a long day taking blood pressures, learning about risk for falls, and sitting for about 7 hours, I returned home to my dorm room to find an unexpected package...from Gillian Welch? My immediate thought was "No, I know Gillian Welch, but I don't KNOW Gillian Welch...What is this???"

So of course I tore the package open in about two seconds and discovered one the best gifts I've received in a long time - a Gillian Welch tote bag of my favorite song, "Look at Miss Ohio." I mean, anyone who can make "Atlanta" rhyme with "fantasy" is a genius in my mind. So now I am an owner of one awesome bag expressing my mood - because I do wanna do right, just not right now.

Thanks big bro!

(Ed. note: If you want to get one for your sister (or anyone else), you can find it here.)

Previously on Lost

2008-03-01T21:54:00.005-05:00

In honor of RIB's favorite TV show (and in recognition of this week's fantastic episode), we'd like to point out the They Might Be Giants of our beloved mysterious island, Brooklyn's Previously on Lost.

Each of the band's songs is a rehash of an episode of, you guessed it, ABC's Lost. The Ballad of Sayid, which can be heard on the band's MySpace page, covers the plot of Season 4, Episode 4, in which we flash-forward and learn that Sayid has become an assassin (working for Ben!), while life on the island continues to build in complexity.

Though many of the still as-yet unrevealed secrets on Lost can be frustrating, there is something very satisfying (and geeky beyond measure) singing along with PoL, as they croon, "Sie-eeed...Sie-eeed" - and rhyme his name with "insi-eed," "pri-eed" and "tie-eed." We're Going Home features a Decemberists-esque refrain - "We are the Oceanic Six! We are the Oceanic Six!" and Just Wink is highlighted by the clever couplet: "Locke seems to know when the storm’s gonna halt/But he gets all his secrets from taller ghost Walt." Ya gotta love it. (Full disclosure: RIB has a Kate action figure on our desk.)

Kids' Rock/We Are The World

2008-03-01T21:20:00.002-05:00

Kids Songs Sung By Rock Stars - Watch more free videos

Japanese We Are The World - Watch more free videos

New Adventures in Metadata

2008-02-20T23:37:00.003-05:00

You can buy the new R.E.M. single on iTunes. It's pretty good -- you should check it out if you feel like feeling 14 years old again.

I bought it. But there's one problem. It enters my iTunes universe as being the work of a totally different band: REM, not R.E.M.

I realize it aesthetically matches the lack of periods on the album cover, but come on! I think it's pretty self evident that this is fucked.

RIB's First Listen: R.E.M.'s Accelerate

2008-02-20T23:15:00.008-05:00

RIB's Matthew and Geoff G. attended an R.E.M. Accelerate "Listening Party" last Friday at Warner Bros. headquarters, where we ate pizza, listened to the record (due April 1) and let them pick our brains about it. Here are the track-by-track reviews those two fine music critics posted afterwards at Murmurs.com. UPDATE: One of those critics has rethought his opinion after a second (and third, and fourth...) listen.

MATTHEW:

I always hate new albums the first time I hear them - Monster is a prime example - so this should be taken with a grain of salt, but, as someone pointed out at the listening party, Accelerate would definitely have made a great EP.

Let's do a track-by-track, but, let me warn you, the details are slipping away even as I type:

Living Well is the Best Revenge: Base hit in the gap. Somone said the mix was a letdown after the Dublin shows, but I avoided the Dublin shows mainly and so I really enjoyed this one. A very good opener that got me psyched for what was to come. I wish I had the notes in front of me (they made us turn them in at the end), because it's hard to remember details. But I really was caught up in Buck's guitar work, as the song seriously kicked ass. I believe there was a crunching solo in this one.

Man-Sized Wreath: Solid base hit. Reminded me a great deal of Lifes Rich Pageant, and even Stipe uses the term "pageantry" in the opening lines. Keeps up the fast pace of the record. Me likey so far. Can't remember too much more than that at the moment.

Supernatural Superserious: Double, two runs score. You already know this one. The catchiest tune on the record and the right choice for the first single.

Hollow Man: Strike one. You can really hear Stipe's smoking come through on this one, which I believe someone likened to Make It All Okay as a sorta sappy youth-targeted ditty. Did not like this one really at all, and it hurts the momentum built up by the first three tracks, going back and forth from slow to fast.

Houston: Ball. Too short for me to get much of an impression, honestly. Didn't knock my socks off though. I think there were some cool organs, though? Or was that Hollow Man? Shows how little this one got to me....

Accelerate: Double, run scores. Some people didn't like this one, but I did. Loved Mills' bass. Guys, was this the one where Mike kept singing even after the song was finished? That was awesome and a bold statement, I think, about the return of Mills' vocals.

Until the Day is Done: Intentional walk. It's okay. I like the instrumentation, but if you didn't love it before, it's practically the same thing we heard on Anderson Cooper. Very MOR. I guess I could like it, but back in the day I would have expected a bit more. Post Around the Sun, however, I'll take it.

Mr. Richards: Ground out, double play. Ugh. Did not like this one, from the very first moment of the What's-the-Frequency-Kenneth?-light opening onwards. It does nothing for me lyrically, either.

Sing for the Submarine: Strikes out looking on three straight pitches. Horrid. He recycles old songs and it does not work. My comments to Warner Bros. Records: "If I never hear the phrase 'electron blue' again, it will be way too soon." It's almost like Stipe is saying, well, we wrote some shitty songs, but let's praise them anyway in another shitty song.

Horse To Water: Triple. One of the best songs on the album. And like the best songs, it is just a fun rocker that you don't have to analyze, just enjoy. Possibly the best of the bunch, as some people felt.

I'm Gonna DJ: Solid base hit, run scores. I have been on the fence with this one, but I think it works here. For some reason Stipe's voice sounded strange to me. But I like it. It fits the mood of the album and this is much better than some live versions I've heard.

OVERALL: They fixed one of the two problems with Around the Sun. This record is urgent, the production is crisp, and the music kicks ass. Mills is in near-full glory, as is Buck, and I swear I heard some drums, too! However, Stipe still doesn't have a whole lot to say. The rockers were great, because they are quick and powerful and fun. Anytime, however, you pay more attention to Stipe than to Buck or Mills, it's very disappointing. The lyrics were not as foul, upon first listen, as ATS, but I am not sure how many spins the lesser tracks are gonna get or how much depth they will reveal in the end.

In all, this album is much, much better than ATS by a long shot. And they sound a lot more vibrant than they deserve to be. I had let my expectations get a bit too high though: R.E.M. is still okay, but they are not in their prime and this is no NAIHF. They are as vibrant as any nearly 30-year-old band ever, but is that a compliment or a knock?

GEOFF G.:

Great music, sometimes hobbled by laughable lyrics.

(That being said, I can't process lyrics, meaning, or story on the first listen of an album -- so that assessment is based on the snippets I caught. I need another listen to tell you what all the songs were about -- but I there were definitely some eyerolls around the room.)

Having the guitars back was great -- but, as someone at the party pointed out, it is a totally different style of "rocking" than Monster. Dirtier and more muddled...which is a good thing. Most reports have described the album as Monster-like and that doesn't seem the case to me.

I hadn't heard any of the songs prior, except for SS/SS, so it was all fresh to me.

Living Well/Mansized -- Honestly, these two have blended together as one in memory. It was exciting to hear the speed and power...but they just rocked and really didn't stand out on first listen.

SS/SS -- Nothing new to see here. Interesting to note, however, there were almost no pauses between the songs. Less then a second break between each one. It made a fast album "feel" even faster.

Hollow Man -- Something has been developing for the past three tracks. This idea of "Accelerate". Hollow man feels like a full stop. Soundtrack for a show on The WB. Utterly translucent lyrics with not much else going on. The first huge letdown of the album. It colors the way you think of everything you hear after it.

Houston -- And then this, I really liked. If the whole album sounded like this, I'd love it. Slow, a little spooky and very measured.

Accelerate -- Solid rocker.

UTDID -- Here is where I thought the album was really starting to show itself again. At the time, I wrote "highlight of the album so far" on my little piece of paper, but I'd need to hear it again.

Mr. Richards -- The most affecting track. My musical comparisons are usually considered way off, but here's what it reminded me of: The Who's Tommy. Take from that what you will.

Sing for the Submarine -- People guffawed on "electron blue". Felt like the longest track.

HTW -- Another solid rocker. There's definitely a pattern here -- the rockers haven't sorted themselves out in my head yet. They're all good, but not distinct in a noticable way.

DJ -- Great silly little record ender. There are really people on here who don;t like this song? It's like Superman or Wilco's Late Greats -- just a nice little treat before to bed.

Overall: Relax. It's gonna be fine. There's going to be disagreement over certain tracks -- but mainly about whether they "fit" or not. There's alot of identity going on in this record, but alot that makes you wonder if your notion of that identity is valid.

Reminder to self: Buy this

2008-02-06T14:21:00.001-05:00

Supernatural Superserious is here

2008-02-06T12:04:00.000-05:00

Getting excited...

2008-02-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

We want to love it so so bad

2008-01-21T15:17:00.002-05:00

So far, we're diggin' the cover at least. (But where are the dots?)

At Last...The 2007 Album of the Year

2008-01-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

We really have little or no time for blogging these days, but we would be remiss (and are already remiss) if we didn't actually announce our 2007 Album of the Year. You already know the top 10. Instead of putting them in order (and we guess there is an order, but whatever), we'll just post the winner, because, really, it wasn't even close. There was a lot of great music in '07, but one album surprised us and delighted us the most, making the choice a complete no-brainer. We apologize if it seems obvious, but come on, this record kicked major ass (and earns this band a place among the pantheon of two-time Album of the Year winners with R.E.M. and Wilco).

RIB's 2007 Album of the Year nominees (blogged from the Jersey Turnpike)

2007-11-22T18:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Turkey Day! We are blogging via Blackberry as we travel up the turnpike, so this'll be short and sweet. No frills whatsoever.

Five honorable mentions, 10 nominees. Winner to be announced New Year's Eve.

HONORABLE MENTION

Lily Allen - Alright, Still
(Smartest, funniest pop album we've heard in a long time)

Tori Amos - American Doll Posse
(A nominee if it was only 14 tracks)

Okkervil River - The Stage Names
(A near miss; great stuff)

Shearwater - Palo Santo (Expanded Edition)
(Definitive version of the now-classic album that finished second last year)

Neil Young - Chrome Dreams 2
(Dirty Old Man alone is worth price of admission)

NOMINEES

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
(Not Funeral, but in no way a sophomore slump)

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
(Never left our active playlist all year; his second nomination)

Feist - The Reminder
(Apple ad in no way influenced this pick; her second nomination)

The Innocence Mission - We Walked in Song
(Another overlooked treasure; they won in 1995 with Glow)

Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
(Full band brings them to new level)

The National - Boxer
(One of our favorite discoveries of '07)

Radiohead - In Rainbows
(We paid five pounds; they won in 2000 with Kid A)

Rogue Wave - Asleep at Heaven's Gate
(Joined ranks of our favorite bands with this one; their second nomination)

Bruce Springsteen - Magic
(Maybe we've lived in Jersey too long, but this one's simply great)

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
(Not as ambitious as usual, just solid; they've won with their last two records - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2002 and A Ghost is Born in 2004)

Bjork Meets Charles Barkley

2007-10-15T11:39:00.000-04:00

How Much Did You Pay for 'In Rainbows'

2007-10-09T16:21:00.000-04:00

Our answer: Five pounds.

The download version is released tomorrow morning. We're sure we'll be too busy or lazy to get around to reviewing it here.

Goodbye, iTunes Music Store

2007-10-07T11:19:00.000-04:00

In some ways, Apple is just as evil as any other corporation.

I've never liked buying tracks on iTunes. It has a great UI and a strong selection, and is dead simple and lightning fast. But the songs are DRMed, and that makes them almost completely worthless in my opinion. When I buy a song, I want to own it dammit, not be told when, where and on what devices and computers I can listen to it or how many times I can burn it to a disc or turn it into a ringtone, etc. Of the more than 7,500 songs I currently have crammed onto my laptop harddrive, just 352 of them are iTunes purchases, almost all via gift cards I've received or from Pepsi bottle cap credits. Occasionally, I might buy a song, but only out of laziness.

Never again.

Until iTunes drops DRM completely, I am an Amazon man.

I downloaded my first Amazon mp3 today, Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens (it's also the theme song from Extras). I had to download an additional application, but it was a relatively smooth process, the mp3 cost 99 cents (albums are $8.99) and the bit rate was twice that of iTunes. And no DRM.

Amen.

I Am Ninja Too

2007-10-01T22:46:00.000-04:00

Figured I should wrap up the podcast expo blog so that the InterWeb can rest easy. I arrived back in New York in the wee hours this morning, and I return to the office tomorrow.

On the last day of the conference, I only had time to attend one session -- a basic video podcasting using iMovie course (I was there when he filmed this) -- and the keynote, where I met the Ninja from Ask a Ninja and had a grainy cell phone camera shot taken. The two guys behind possibly the most successful video podcast there is, Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, spoke about the show and the show's new community portal Ask a Ninja Fans, which I believe launched that very day. Their keynote was the best of the conference, as the two guys are extremely funny (no surprise) and really got into the history of the show, which was a real shoestring affair in the beginning. Actually, the original idea was for an animated comedy about a whole series of Ninjas, which asked the question, "Everyone wants to be ninjas. What do ninjas want to be?" The answer: to be like regular Joes. Accountants, high school students, whatever.

It turned out to be too elaborate and failed, which I believe was one of the reasons behind the main tenet of Ask a Ninja's production: keeping it simple. One camera, one actor, simple costuming, no background or special effects. Davina seems keen on green screens -- following Alex Lindsay's model -- but I'm not sure if that's really necessary.

To sum up, I learned as much as I could, considering the fact that no one really knows a) What they're doing, b) How to make money doing it or c) What the future holds. But man, podcasting has come a long way since I started listening back in 2004. For one, some people ARE starting to make at least a little bit of money. And, perhaps even more importantly, more than a few dozen people in the world now know what the word "podcast" even means.

Audacity, BondageCast and the Cops

2007-09-30T02:53:00.000-04:00

I took a crash course in Audacity today, and I think I've come around. I might be more apt to use it than Garageband. I especially like that it's free, cross-platform and open source.

Turns out the big podcasters party tonight was literally three doors down the hall. Mike, Davina and I attended, until the cops came and shut it down. Got to meet Adam of the Maccast finally and Justine of iJustine fame. No, she wasn't filming. Dawn and Drew were there, too, as was the Ask a Ninja guy, Brother Love, C.C. Chapman, and I believe I saw Alex Lindsay as well. Plus, some guy was literally tying up a half-naked girl with rope. RopeCast? BondageCast? I'm not sure.

Pictures of Adam and me, Justine and me (I look like an ogre next to her, even more than usual - she is TINY) and other assorted shots including the bondage stuff, will remain in the vaults.

Revision 3 and the Pixel Corps

2007-09-29T15:46:00.001-04:00

This morning's keynote was given by Revision 3 boss Jim Louderback. He mainly spoke about Revision 3's business end and how they've developed their content, such as Diggnation, around identifiable hosts with ties to the community (and not dumb blondes, to paraphrase him). Of course, Diggnation is a pretty strong example of community, as readers submit and vote on stories at Digg, which in turn leads to them being highlighted on the front page and in the subsequent podcast. Hence a built-in community around the site and a show that helps people feel "empowered," to use Louderback's word.

He also talked a bit about advertising (down with pre-roll!) and also about how new media is affecting old media. So of course I flagged him down after the presentation and asked him for thoughts on how newspapers can better use new media techniques. Funnily enough, he asked me if I had ever seen or heard of The 1Up Show, which happens to be one of my favorites (Jen is forced to listen to me singing the theme all the time). He suggested a similar format for a paper podcast, with a mix of different departments and a "what's happening in the newsroom" sort of vibe. (He seems to think big-name writers and columnists still write from their desks as opposed to filing remotely.) Still, you can't argue with it - The 1Up Show really is extremely well done.

Following that, I met up with Davina and we headed up to Alex Lindsay (of Pixel Corps and MacBreak Weekly fame), and he gave a great lecture on how the MacBreak video podcast is done, along with some other projects, including Food Science with Kirsten Sanford, aka Dr. Kiki, who was in the audience and sat there looking embarrassed (and also cute). I liked what he had to say about podcast length and frequency, basically 30-90 minutes for audio, 3-8 minutes for video.

Any more, especially with video, and people start to tune out. Also, once a week is perfect for both. More than once a week, people feel overwhelmed; less than once a week, they forget about it.

He also showed a video podcast that would make an awesome model for something to put together on our own site, if we can work out the (numerous) kinks.

Day 1 Rewind

2007-09-29T10:35:00.000-04:00

The show wasn't as packed as I was expecting on Day 1. I spent the day attending various sessions, some more helpful than others, and the floor exhibits were a bit hard to navigate because a lot of the booth operators weren't good at making it clear what exactly they do. Davina was frustrated with Podango, as they seemed to lack a sales rep, and just had geeks who could speak about plug-ins for free blogging software, but seemed to know nothing about the expensive platform we're running. Still, they could be a good option. I also introduced her to Adam Bloom, who flagged me down during a mixer later last night.

I missed my chance to meet with Adam Christianson, but he's doing some live shows from the floor today so perhaps I'll get another opportunity. It would be refreshing after yesterday, when all the folks we met at the show represented the business side of things. Even the Podcast Awards, given out in the late afternoon, were often accepted by proxy, as the podcasters themselves weren't attending. Brother Love accepted for Keith and the Girl, for example, in his usual flamboyantly obnoxious way, so at least Davina got a proper introduction to the podsafe music network's legend-in-his-own-mind.

Mostly, I enjoyed the more technical sessions, because the more theoretical ones really weren't stimulating. I scooted out of the Viral Video session early, because all the viral videos they were highlighting were old news to me, and I didn't feel they were adding much to the discussion. Maybe it got better after I left, but in 15 minutes about the only point that grabbed me was when one the panelists made the point that these YouTube sensations represent the model for new technologies/forms of expression, such as what we saw during the early days of film - "spectacle comes first, then storytelling." At least I'll have another quote to throw out at dinner parties (perhaps even this one).

My two favorite sessions were the Sound Production and Post-Production talks, because although they sometimes got a bit too technical and steps were rushed through to fit an hour, I learned a few tips that could come in handy when working with audio. Note of interest: I expected a lot of home hobbyists in the podcasting world, and there seemed to be at least a few there in the audience, but the podcasters on the panels were all pro-level editors, filmmakers, actors, etc., who were using the medium of podcasts to get their material out there. I guess when a conference costs $300, some of the non-pro enthusiasts stay home. I look forward to checking out the podcamp in New York in February, because it's free and I'd expect to meet a lot more amateurs.

As for the technical stuff, I learned things that Geoff will tease me about, because he spent four years at NYU film school and I'm trying to pick up this stuff in an hour, like the difference between dynamic, condenser and ribbon microphones, what polar patterns are, and other various tips about sound recording. I did get some recommendations for various gear, including some handheld devices that could be useful for audio podcasts.

The Post-Production speaker was really interesting. He's a sound editor for IT Conversations, and the developer of The Levelator, free software for podcasters that completely automates levels adjustment and is now on my must-download list. Also, he makes an Audacity plug-in for deleting with crossfade, which, to sum up because I need to get in the shower and head for breakfast, removes ums and ahhs from recordings smoothly. I am not comfortable in Audacity, having been a Garageband guy, but if I could master this plug-in, it would make life much easier.

By the way, note to the powers-that-be: the Sound Engineer in the first session recommends Garageband among his favorite tools for editing. Just sayin'.

I joined Davina for some monetization session, given by podcasting's version of a motivational speaker. It did little for me, but he did make the point that Diggnation is essentially an hour-long promo for their Digg.com, which is pretty smart. Also, he got into targeted ads a bit, and I mentioned to Davina that targeted niche ads in podcasts, when done well, don't seem intrusive because they're for products I'm interested in -- making the ads feel informative, not intrusive. I forward past TV ads with my DVR, but I've been turned on to cool, geeky things, by ads in certain podcasts. Or by hosts just talking about the products, as editorial content.

There was a party later on, with, of all things, belly dancers and a ballet dancer who hung from the ceiling by a cloth and did things that would have broken every bone in my body. She was good, but we really only hung around to see if we'd won the raffle. We also saw the Ask a Ninja guy at dinner.

Okay, off to the shower.

Podshow Party: 'Just Hit Record and Go'

2007-09-28T00:52:00.000-04:00

Podshow is a mixed bag in my opinion. I think the concept is absolutely fantastic -- it provides a connection between unsigned bands and musicians and the podcasters who want to play music without being sued by the RIAA. It also gives unsigned bands a great distribution method for the material and helps them get noticed not just by podcasters and podcast listeners, but by music fans of all shapes and sizes on the Web.

My only beef is that the music to be found there leaves much to be desired. But I'm an elitist snob, and as Ed Ovett, host of "Ed's Mixed Bag" podcast -- a Brooklyn native, no doubt -- told me tonight, "you gotta dig" for the good stuff. Fair enough.

Which brings me to the party, which was excellent (it's still going on, but I wanted to get back and jot down some of my thoughts). Most of my efforts to bring up the newspaper business were met with excitement -- a newspaper sent you out here to look into podcasting, great! -- but most of the talk was about music, although I consistently tried to swing it back. I spent much of the time talking with Ovett and "Podshow Radio" host Brent Bradley. Bradley, who says he's a diehard print fan when it comes to getting his news, was more than enthusiastic about the idea of news podcasts, pointing to a few other organizations that already do them. We discussed the podcasts put out by 60 Minutes and Meet the Press, but agreed that they are only carbon copies at best of the programs themselves, and not Web-exclusive content. When it came to a newspaper podcast, Bradley stressed that reader response is key, saying "letters to the editor" should be as large part of the focus and that audio voicemail with host response is killer.

Mostly, I spoke with Bradley -- whose show focuses on one podsafe artist each episode -- and Ovett about the music business and how the Net has allowed artists to avoid the trappings of record company deals or at least get their music out without those deals. Are artists who use Podshow or Facebook or MySpace just trying to get their music out there -- or are they hunting for record deals? And, if a Podshow artist goes mainstream, is that a win for Podshow or a betrayal? Ovett and Bradley, as purists, were fascinated by the question, but didn't have an answer.

Note: This all led to an idea for a great podcast we could do. Won't make it public here, though.

I later had the chance to speak to Podshow exec Adam Bloom. He was quick to say that a Podshow artist gone big-time would be a triumph. As for newspaper podcasts, he wasn't much help. After I told him the name and circulation of the paper I represent, he asked if it was an alternative weekly. Blame it on geography -- or on his own expectations. To be fair, it's not his field. At any rate, he stressed video, video, VIDEO as being the medium of choice right now. Like me, he's a radio/audio guy, but "more people watch TV."

I also met Chris Naaden, who runs a podcast transcription business, but also happens to be a huge Dodgers fan (married to a Red Sox fan, his business partner April). We spent a good twenty minutes talking about a Yankee podcast, mainly about the benefits and drawbacks of having a beat writer host it -- as opposed to the grass roots, fan-based approach.

Naaden came around to the idea of a beat writer podcast, but raised an interesting question that's been on the back of my mind: Are independent podcasts successful because, though they sacrifice polish and editorial balance, they are full of passion and fire? Would a podcast hosted by a carefully chosen fan be more entertaining, or does the beat writer's access to the clubhouse and exclusive interviews give him an insurmountable edge? I've always thought the latter, but so many of the best sports blogs are run by amateurs who live and die with every play, which other fans can relate to. Beat writers are forced to be impartial, which takes some of the color away. Do people expect a more straightforward approach from newspapers because it's what they've always gotten -- or because it's what they really want? Anyway, it just got us both thinking.

Finally, as the room started to get too crowded and I started thinking about heading for the door, in walked The Podfather, Adam Curry. I don't think I made much of an impression, as I simply told him I was a big fan and that he was one of the key inspirations for me pitching podcasts at work for the last two years. I asked him if he had any words of wisdom and he started talking about how he and Podshow have created content for newspaper Web sites in the UK. I apparently disappointed him because I didn't seem interested in his sales pitch. Had I had more time, I would have been, but, instead, I told him I was far more interested in our own original content.

Said Curry: "Great. Just hit record and go!"

And then a couple of cute blondes cut in and my time was at an end.

Favorite T

2007-09-28T00:32:00.000-04:00

Geoff, didn't Ambrosia create Barrack? How much time was spent with that back in the day?

What's the Best Approach to Networking at the Expo?

2007-09-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

Just hopped out of the shower and am preparing to meet coworker Davina at some point tonight, plus I plan on heading to the "Welcome to the Expo Party, Party" in suite 1312 of my hotel in about 45 minutes or so.

I've been using these down hours -- when I should be napping, but I'm wired -- to do some research about what's going on this weekend. I've contacted Adam Christianson of The Maccast -- "the show for Mac geeks, by Mac geeks" -- and he's agreed to speak with me tomorrow morning at the iProng booth. Hopefully he won't be too distracted by the gaggles of geek fans that will surely be surrounding him. Hey, I enjoy his show, so I'll be one of them.

I also hope to run into Cali Lewis from GeekBrief TV, who I believe will be holding court at the Premiumcast.com booth, as well as the Podfather, who arrives either tomorrow or Saturday, though pulling him aside seems like it would be a real challenge.

As I've been researching meetups and writing emails and listening to podcasts, I continue to wonder what I've been wondering for the past several weeks: What should I ask podcasters if and when I get a chance to pick their brains? Obviously, I hope to get a lot out of the seminars and keynotes, but I want to make the best of any opportunity I get to speak to my favorite podcasters, or to podcasters and techies I've never heard of before. As hobbyists, I'm not expecting them to have grand ideas about newspaper Web sites -- in fact, they in many ways represent the opposition to old media, or at least are a great example of how people can provide and package content in ways old media is failing to -- but I'd love to get their take on what they'd like to see, in a perfect world. What should newspapers be doing as they attempt to work with this new medium? What would pique their interest about an old media podcast, if it were done well? What makes a good podcast, anyway? How can we catch up? Can we catch up?

Of course, there are tons of other questions, both general and specific, mostly about content (although I hope to pick up on the technical and possibly the marketing side, too, if at all possible). I'll be brainstorming some more questions this evening, and I hope Davina has some suggestions, too. I'm not sure if our paths will converge a lot this weekend, but I'd be disappointed if they don't.

I Arrive

2007-09-27T18:50:00.001-04:00

I woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m. EST and have been riding trains, planes and rental cars ever since. Just now, I'm finally in my room at the DoubleTree in Ontario, California, where you get a free cookie when you check in, but 1 liter bottles of Evian cost $4.50 each.

So far not much to write home about, besides the sunny weather and lack of humidity. National was out of compact cars, so I got a minivan, with two rows of seats in the back, at the same price. There's plenty of room in the driver's seat, and with all my experience begrudgingly driving gargantuan SUVs, it could easily pass for a midsize sedan in my mind. Nevertheless, I'm thinking of offering my services as a shuttle bus driver for wayward podcasters.

The drive here was a breeze, about an hour all things considered, and 57N takes you right past Angels Stadium and numerous signs for Long Beach and Los Angeles (hear that, Jen?). In Ontario, there's a Blvd. called Inland Empire (my joy at this is further proof of my undying David Lynch geekdom, so much so that I almost pulled over and took a picture of the street sign) and an In-N-Out Burger on North Vineyard Lane, within sight of my hotel.

If my first-ever No. 3 combo with onions counts as an adventure, then I'm ahead of the game already.

RIB's Geekfest Podcast Expo Blog

2007-09-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

Early tomorrow morning, I'm embarking on a weekend business trip, flying across the country to attend the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California.

Because my boss, Adam, claims he "must have been high" when he gave me this plum assignment, and because I'll (essentially) be attending alone and will likely have a lot of time to myself, I've decided to blog about the experience here, as I diligently and dutifully attend conferences and keynotes while not spending a single, solitary moment in the hotel pool (I didn't even bring my bathing suit, I swear).

Maybe this blog detour, as it were, will turn out to be the basis of the report Adam expects from me upon my return, and prove to Adam -- and his superiors -- that he was not, by any means, "high" when he decided to send me.

So, to him and any other coworkers or friends who may stumble upon this, I hope there is some value to me dumping the contents of my brain here, as I wander through a faraway convention hall. I'm bringing along my rapidly aging gear -- a G4 PowerBook that desperately needs replacing, a digital camera, a Blackberry and other assorted sundries -- and will try to use them if and when I can, if only to keep myself busy when I'm back at the hotel each night, completely and utterly sober -- and eager for an early rise the next morning.

RIB's Song of the Week: Metroid Prime 3 Opening Theme

2007-09-16T00:18:00.000-04:00

Metroid Prime 3 is our current Wii obsession. It's a fantastic game on so many levels - think of Zelda as a futuristic first-person shooter.

It only occurred to us tonight to make mention of its fantastic opening theme music. So, without further ado, here's a little video we shot just now. It's not the same as sitting down and playing it yourself, but it captures it well enough. The first few seconds are usually all you'd hear before you open up your save file, but those few seconds are the best part.

Not Quite Chocolate Rain, But...

2007-09-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, we'd of course love the Innocence Mission to find new life as an Internet sensation, now that they've posted this incredibly beautiful in-studio performance of Brotherhood of Man on YouTube. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of not branding themselves as amateurs playing in their living room, a couple of poor working schlubs who greet customers at Walmart during the day and spend nights just trying to get their music out there to the people. That's what America digs - a combination of freaks like Tay Zonday, American Idol winners and total fraud Marie Digby.

Rant over. Now watch the video, because it's perfect.

We Bought Jen a Nano Today

2007-09-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

We still own a brick-like black and white no-frills iPod 2G, and now Jen has an iPod that's impossibly small, plays video and displays her photos in full, vibrant color. She also has an Intel Macbook to our PowerBook G4. Suddenly, our Luddite girlfriend's hardware is far more advanced than ours is.

Here's the proof:

Sigh. BUT -- will her iPod still be going strong after five years of continuous abuse, without ever needing a new battery? I think not!

YouTube Roundup

2007-09-09T08:05:00.000-04:00

Because we are still too lazy and/or too busy to set aside adequate time for blogging lately, here are some more YouTube videos that have caught our fancy recently.

First up is this video, which we saw the other day posted at imdiscog.com by Keith Abbott, the undisputed king of all things Innocence Mission. Apparently, IM's song Clear to You was used in the two-hour Beverly Hills, 90210 pilot, to heighten the romantic drama between Jason Priestly (aka Brandon Walsh) and some chick who rides a motorcycle. The two (underage, right?) teens end up sipping champagne in a hot tub, which I'm sure Karen Peris and Co. will wholeheartedly endorse when their own children reach puberty.

The second video, if you dare to watch it, shows Roller Girl Heather Graham's unfortunate decision to become a recording artist. Since she was a waitress at the Double R diner on Twin Peaks, she gets a free pass from us, but her voice is so awful, her lyrics so trite and her band so terrible, that it's a close call indeed.

Third up, is the new iPod nano video. Why? Three reasons: 1. We have long been unpaid Mac spokespeople. 2. We love Feist. 3. Dan got a job with Apple! Congrats, sir. We plan on drinking heartily to your future success quite soon (and on more than one occasion).

Finally, there are enough musical elements in this hilarious Ricky Gervais video to give us reason to post it here. But we would anyway, because it's freakin' genius. Gervais and Steven Merchant (with or without Karl Pilkington) are a comedy team for the ages. There is a version at rickygervais.com without audience response, if you want to stay totally pure.

Feist Rocks Letterman

2007-08-30T10:48:00.000-04:00

In case you missed it (we didn't - thanks DVR!), Feist and a chorus of indie rock stars (including members of Broken Social Scene, Grizzly Bear and The National) positively KILLED on Letterman the other night.

Five Questions from Moni: They Might Be Giants - The Else

2007-08-12T12:40:00.000-04:00

So our Austrian bureau sent in these five questions about They Might Be Giants several weeks ago, and they have been collecting dust along with all the other music items we've been meaning to write. Once again, the three w's -- work, Wii and woman -- have grabbed the lion share of our time and blogging has been on the backburner. But we did pick up the new TMBG album -- The Else -- so it's time to answer Moni while we try to recover from our latest Mario Strikers Charged wrist injury.

1. What, where, when and why was RIB's first contact with They Might Be Giants? What happened afterwards?

We didn't see the Johns live until college, but we were introduced to them the summer before freshman year of high school, if we remember correctly, when a friend (Zared Goldfarb, better known at the time as Ziggy) at summer camp turned us on to Flood. We fell in love with it immediately, and soon we were scowering Poughkeepsie department stores in search of a prosthetic forehead to wear on our real head. We never found one, but we did wear fake wigs and dance to Istanbul (Not Constantinople) with Ziggy in the camp talent show. Things haven't been quite the same since.

2. What can I imagine a typical TMBG show to be like?

We saw them so many freaking times while at NYU that we got our fill and have only seen them once or twice since. Possibly the best was getting to see John Linnell perform "State Songs" -- our 1999 album of the year -- with the State Songs band. Made us all proud to be Americans. In general, you can expect a few surprises -- one show they had an entire lineup of guests singing their songs (with Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes and Frank Black among them). Several times we saw them bring out "Stick", which made a booming noise when pounded on the stage, and Exquisite Dead Guy was performed by two ventriloquist dummy heads on the end of long poles. Basically, though, Linnell hangs out at the keyboard and Flans plays the part of nerd rock guitar god.

3. How do you tell someone who's never heard of TMBG why they really need to listen to this band?

We would never even speak to anyone who hasn't heard of TMBG.

4. In a sparkly shiny perfect world, what would the new album sound like in RIB's opinion?

Now that we have it, we'd like to say it would, in a perfect world, sound more like the bonus disc that comes with it -- Cast Your Pod to the Wind, which has some of (though not nearly all) the best selections from their podcast. Not all the songs hit home, but there are some gems that have that quirky quality that is lost on The Else, which is a bit too slick and over-produced. Once upon a time, TMBG recorded crazy songs for fun, then put them on their albums. Now they show up on their podcasts instead. CYPTTW is free, but it'd almost be worth it at full price just for I'm Your Boyfriend Now, the funniest stalker song ever. Too bad Miniature Sidewalk Whirlwind and It Was a Very Good Year are missing, as is the commentary version of (She Was A) Hotel Detective in the Future. On the album proper, the only song we find ourselves listening to regularly is Upside Down Frown, which reminds us of TMBG's second career as brilliant children's song writers.

RIB's 'Perfect' Tracklist for The New TMBG Album (in no particular order):

Sense Around
I'm Your Boyfriend Now
Miniature Sidewalk Whirlwind
It Was a Very Good Year
(She Was A) Hotel Detective in the Future
Yeah, The Deranged Millionaire
I'm Impressed
Upside Down Frown
The Cap'm
Why Did You Grow A Beard?
Take Out the Trash
Cast Your Pod to the Wind
Feign Amnesia

Bonus Tracks:
NSA Ringtone
My Other Phone is a Boom Car

5. Where is Particle Man today?

The water got him?

Sometimes, We're Big Softies

2007-06-16T00:34:00.000-04:00

Simon has apparently already begun talks to sign her to some seven-figure record deal, so very soon she'll become unbearably annoying, or plain ruined, or both.

UPDATE: So I figured I'd check to see if she won the competition. She didn't. Turns out the guy who beat her is an even better story. Check this out:

R.I.P., Podsafe Music Info Site

2007-06-03T00:38:00.000-04:00

So the New School finally updated their servers and, as a result, our brilliant Podsafe Music Info Site - a handy-dandy guide to the wonderful world of podsafe music that we made in about 20 minutes as a continuing ed HTML class final project - is no more. Thankfully, the New School warned us beforehand, so we were able to salvage its rich content in order to reproduce it for you here. Enjoy!

PODSAFE MUSIC INFO SITE

What is podsafe music? Podsafe music is a low fat alternative to actual music and, for some, the solution to the RIAA's campaign of international terrorism. With this Web site, I hope to introduce one or two people to both the wonders - and dangers - of podsafe music, which now has both its own network and its champion. Please follow the links below to begin your journey through the past, present and future of podsafe music, which sucks ass right now but once they get talented artists who can actually write lyrics to join up, then, man oh man, the record industry is in for REAL trouble.

The History of Podsafe Music

The Past

The first evidence of podsafe music was discovered in this cave drawing. It depicts the mirth and disdain of the fertility goddess after attending a show by an unsigned band. Squirting milk from her breasts was not only a prehistoric version of throwing a tomato, but also mocked the band members' inability to get women.

This podsafe group seems to date back well before the advent of recorded music, but, in truth, they had this portrait painted at a Ren Fair.

The pop artists of the '60s briefly suffered through a podsafe music period, when artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein decided to ignore "establishment" performers like Elvis Presley or even The Velvet Underground and go totally podsafe. The experiment did not last very long.

The Present

Of course, with the advent of the Internet and the development of the iPod, crappy musicians now had a way of truly squeezing blood from a stone; finding each and every person of bad taste in a small city was hard enough, but getting that wider, international audience was near impossible, especially with the evil record companies pissing all over their demo tapes. Now, the literally five or six people in Europe who might actually find their shit amusing could, with the simple click of a mouse, download and enjoy their tripe from the privacy of their one-bedroom apartments overlooking tiny, rat-infested alleyways. True freedom of expression was born.

The Future

Once the robots take control, who the fuck will care about podsafe music?

Podsafe Music Artists

There are hundreds if not thousands of podsafe musicians out there. None of them are very good.

Brother Love

Imagine David Lee Roth. Now imagine David Lee Roth some more. Do you still want to listen to Brother Love? If so, click here.

The Lashcshivvioussshsh Biddies

Adam Curry has a vocal orgasm whenever he plays them.

Podsafe For Peace

I implore people to check out the Podsafe for Peace Christmas track. It's mediocre at best, and Brother Love completely ruins it with his ridiculous bellowing at the end, but all proceeds go to UNICEF. I bought one.

Best Things About Podsafe Music

1. It's free -- You can download it, play it, share it and actually listen to it without being sued.
2. Actually, that's the only thing cool about it now.

Worst Things About Podsafe Music

1. It sucks -- You can download it, play it, share it and actually listen to it without being entertained.

Music to Hover Your Junk Over

2007-05-31T20:43:00.000-04:00

So music has been very very good to us in 2007, but it's been a bumpy ride the last several weeks. Bjork's album disappointed, then Wilco's basically did too (Geoff, where's your freakin' review already?!) and last week we learned that the already rescheduled Innocence Mission show at Southpaw had been cancelled.

Then along comes The National.

Boxer is yet another album that is making our ears happy to be alive. We downloaded the first track, Fake Empire, from Idolator quite awhile ago and after a few listens realized that the album proper was worthy of a release-date purchase.

And, as you can see by the fact that we've affixed an album sticker to our bike, it was worth it. Yet another album that we see finishing in our top 5 this year, although how we'll fit a dozen albums in the top 5 remains a mystery.

Boxer is very much about becoming an adult, sacrificing your social life for the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Mistaken for Strangers, the second track, sums up the message of much of the album pretty well, although it's a bit rockier than some of the better tracks: "Showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters/you get mistaken for strangers by your own friends/when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery Citibank lights".

Green Gloves, Jen's favorite, builds on the leaving your old friends behind theme with the opening stanza, "Falling out of touch with all my/friends are somewhere getting wasted/hope they're staying glued together/I have arms for them", while Squalor Victoria ("I'm a professional in my beloved white shirt") and RIB's favorite track, Start a War ("I'll get money, I'll get funny again/walk away now/and you're gonna start a war") further develop the album's financial issues.

But since we don't want this whole blog entry to be about regurgitating lyrics, we'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say the songs, besides being smart - and relevant to our age group here at RIB - are gorgeous, haunting and definitely worth prime sticker real estate. Released: May 22. MONEY

Tori Amos' American Doll Posse: Breaking Down Which Tracks are Worthwhile - and Which are Worthless

2007-05-21T16:26:00.000-04:00

As you read here a week or so ago, Tori Amos has released her best album in years. True, that's not saying much, but we have to give credit where credit is due: If you are a lapsed Toriphile, American Doll Posse should get you back on track. I never expected to own another one of her albums, or post gushingly about her again, but here I am.

Still, it's 23 tracks long. By RIB's count, that's at least nine too many. So while we certainly recommend that you pick it up, we figured we'd provide this handy breakdown of what's worth keeping and what you're better off trashing -- and a few we haven't decided on yet (note that we've left out references to the album's various "characters" and which songs "they" sing, because, frankly, it's a ridiculous conceit that only contributes to the album's unwieldiness):

1. Yo George. This is a not-very-subtle dig at George W. Bush which asks the pertinent, but heavy-handed, questions: "Where have we gone wrong, America?" and "Is this just the madness of King George?". I'm keeping it for now, because it's pretty, but it might not last. Better as a decent b-side than an uninspiring album opener. STATUS PENDING.

2. Big Wheel. Great, great song. Upbeat, a bit country but not too much, and about 2/3 of the way in, Tori declares, "I'm an M-I-L-F, don't you forget." KEEP.

3. Bouncing Off Clouds. Like a Kate Bush song Kate Bush never recorded, in a Running Up That Hill vein. Fantastic. KEEP.

4. Teenage Hustling. This has had us singing "I'm at your door, I'm at your door, I'm at your do-o-or" repeatedly in our shower, which opens us up for a lot of snarky criticisms, but we're very confortable with both our musical taste and our sexuality. KEEP.

5. Digital Ghost. This is the first track where the annoying side of Tori starts to come out. It seems to be packed with lame technology double entendres, including "I am not immune to your net". But I don't hate it enough to trash it yet. STATUS PENDING.

6. You Can Bring Your Dog. In which Tori compares herself and others to pets, with a boring roadhouse rock band backbeat. DELETE.

7. Mr. Bad Man. Starts off like it's going to be a Herman's Hermits greatest hit. But "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" is a lyrical masterpiece compared to lines like "The bad man made her cry". DELETE.

8. Fat Slut. All I can say is thank God it's only 41 seconds long. DELETE.

9. Girl Disappearing. Okay, we're back on track here. The lyrics are pretty blah, but the piano and the music are worth the ride. KEEP.

10. Secret Spell. Reminds me of solo Stevie Nicks. But better. Will I wake up in a cold sweat one night, needing to hear Secret Spell and nothing else? No. But I like it. KEEP.

11. Devils and Gods. Another short one, clocking in at 53 seconds. Not long enough to be much of anything, but at least it doesn't suck like Fat Slut. Would have been better as a little hidden bit at the end of another track. KEEP.

12. Body and Soul. The song starts and I think to myself, "I don't really like most of the Y Can't Tori Read throwback stuff." Then the chorus kicks in and I'm singing along. Could see this as a single, although there are better choices. KEEP.

13. Father's Son. Could be a track from Boys For Pele. And since that is by far her best album, IMO, that is saying a lot. KEEP.

14. Programmable Soda. This song is total nonsense, but so was Mister Zebra. It's not as good, but, like Zebra, this is fun. And at 1:25, it doesn't have quite enough time to wear out its welcome. KEEP.

15. Code Red. I'm sorry Tori, but THIS IS THE FIFTEENTH TRACK. I am already not in the mood for you anymore. I don't even care if this is a good song or not at this point. But since I've undertaken the task of listening to the whole thing, I will have to be fair to Code Red. Which is really not that great of a song. DELETE.

16. Roosterspur Bridge. Zzzzzzz. DELETE.

17. Beauty of Speed. Okay, you've won me back with the opening drum/piano stuff...yes...yes, the spirit of Kate Bush rejoins us on track 17. Good stuff. KEEP.

18. Almost Rosey. Poor lyrics, lackluster performance. More dull than anything else. DELETE

19. Velvet Revolution. As a former resident of Prague, I was hoping for something else. I guess "something more" would be appropriate too. DELETE.

20. Dark Side of the Sun. Tori's version of Blowin' in the Wind-meets-Big Yellow Taxi, anyone? Not good. DELETE.

21. Posse Bonus. As this is track No. 21, don't you think we've had enough Posse bonuses? I could have stomached this better earlier in this sitting. On second though, nah. DELETE.

22. Smokey Joe. Can't quite make heads or tails of this song yet, which appears to be about revenge. But it seems to work and I will return to it. KEEP.

23. Dragon. Nice, dark keyboard and piano. The lovely chorus is "stay awhile, stay awhile, stay a-whi-le" - but how much better would that sound if this was track 11? KEEP.

CONCLUSION: Tori Amos needs an editor. American Doll Posse would have been perfect at about 11 or 12 tracks. As is, there's a whole lot of crap to float through to get to the chewy cookie center. Worth it though - especially now that we've got it all sorted out.

Bjork's Dull Flame

2007-05-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

I've been holding off on this post for a couple weeks, because I didn't want to have to type what I am now going to type:

The new Bjork album just isn't that good.

Volta isn't terrible, mind you. I like Innocence when it's not giving me a headache, the Antony duets are strong enough and I See Who You Are is a mostly good example of the recent spate of songs about lovers dying and, presumably, burying eachother (see Iron & Wine's Naked as We Came or Wilco's new On and On and On or, well, pick any Decemberists song). But the latter, like many songs on this album, never takes off. Where are the hooks?

I am so not a "where are the hooks?" kind of guy, but when you make an album with Timbaland that has several songs based on very hard beats - Declare Independence is Industrial Rock, for Chrissake - you expect to want to maybe, at least once, if only for a minute, get out of your seat and dance. Or maybe even just bop your head.

But Bjork isn't having it.

I guess maybe I tapped my toes once or twice for Earth Intruders, but the production - I can't believe I'm saying this about a Bjork album - is kind of murky and the beats don't get the chance to beat your brains around a bit. Even her quirky English issues - I think she means Earth Intruders as some kind of return-to-the-soil revolutionary guerilla force, not space aliens - annoys me here. And why does it end with a minute-and-a-half of foghorns?

My favorite track on the album is The Dull Flame of Desire - Bjork and Antony have two of my favorite voices in the world - but I'm still trying to understand why the song had to last seven-and-a-half minutes when there are only 10 lines to the lyric. Like Declare Independence, it starts off with such great promise, then just plods along, with peaks that just aren't majestic enough. In the case of Dull Flame, the high points are the highest on Volta, but if I'm within reach of my mouse, there's little chance I'm making it all the way through.

I do love the high school band horns on this album, and I hold out hope that Bjork will sneak up on me with this one. But I expected it to put her earlier albums to sleep for awhile and, instead, it's only making me appreciate them more. Released: May 8. UNNECESSARY VOODOO.

Feist on a Bus

2007-05-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

Hat tip to The Yellow Stereo.

Records I Buy (Catch-Up Edition)

2007-05-07T19:45:00.000-04:00

There are numerous reasons why I haven't posted in ages - from the usual (laziness) to the unusual (click here for details) to the hopefully never again (oral surgery, followed by a week of walking death after a terrible reaction to the anasthesia) - but I've also been busy picking up and listening to a lot of new albums. So before the new Bjork comes out and throws some of these on the backburner, I figured it was time to give them some quality blog time.

Shearwater - Palo Santo (Expanded Edition)

Shearwater's Palo Santo finished second in last year's Album of the Year countdown, and it would likely have won had it not been for the fact that I HATED the production. When it was soft, it'd be too soft, so you'd blast the volume and the loud parts would rip your ears off. And although the album has a dark, murky feel to it, the production was just a bit too, well, dark and murky.

Apparently Shearwater felt the same way, because, after signing a new deal with Matador records, they've re-released the album, with five tracks completely recorded, the rest remixed, new packaging and a bonus disc with new tracks and demos.

And...

It.

Is.

Awesome.

Just about every problem I had with the original version has been fixed and the songs have improved from muted, almost-epics, to clear, ringing full-fledged epics. The old "Hail, Mary" was one of my favorite songs - it rocked, but also seemed a bit held-back. This one soars, ending with a lengthened, now-breathtaking jam session that really pops. The new opening drumbeat of "Red Sea, Black Sea" is a call to arms and the banjo is luscious.

Shearwater's new-and-improved Palo Santo owns the original, and the bonus tracks are great, too. If you didn't pick this one up last year, now's the time. Released: April 10. ESSENTIAL

Shearwater - Red Sea, Black Sea (New Version) [mp3 via Pitchfork]

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

So with the new-and-improved Shearwater and Neon Bible burning a hole in my iPod, you'd think Andrew Bird would get short shrift. Not so. Despite those two albums, I keep going back, time and time again, to Armchair Apocrypha.

This is going to be one of my favorites when 2007 is all said and done.

It doesn't quite catch you on first listen, but several of these songs - Fiery Crash, Plasticities, Heretics and Simple X, for example - are already old friends. Days have passed where I sang nothing in my head but "Thank God it's fatal, thank God it's fatal..." over and over again.

And his whistling! This one's a real gem. Released: March 20. PRECIOUS TERRITORY

Feist - The Reminder

Okay, the rest of the albums on this list have been getting short shrift, to various degrees and for various reasons.

Feist is an undeserving victim of the Shearwater-Arcade Fire-Andrew Bird triumvirate, as her new album seems great. "My Moon, My Man" has been known to poke "Heretics" out of my head at times, although my version goes "My moon, my man, my bah-doo-be-doo-doo", which tells you a lot about how many times I've listened to this one so far. But it will get the attention it deserves soon enough. Released: May 1. BAH-DOO-BE-DOO-DOO

Tori Amos - American Doll Posse

A lot of the songs are total crap and will be deleted very soon. But the good ones are really good. Who would have thought?

I lost interest in Tori a long time ago (she peaked with Boys for Pele, and everything since has been a let down), but songs like "Big Wheel", a country rock number in which Tori declares herself a MILF, and Teenage Hustling, featuring an irresistable "I'm at your door, I'm at your door" refrain, are the best Tori songs I've heard since my days as a Toriphile. These two alone are worth it; the others have yet to get final judgement. Some seem like they could be keepers ("Father's Son" is on now and I'm digging it), but a lot of the time I find my cursor hovering over 'send to trash'... Released: May 1. MILF

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga

One that is being ignored as well, but is most likely to collect dust.

I liked I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning but I was hesitant to buy this because I find him a bit too precious. I got it anyway and regretted it from the first track, which begins with Revolution 9-like orchestral music and a talking woman, and features the cringe-inducing line "get your revolution at a lower price". I do like "Four Winds", though, and it's always great to hear Gillian Welch (she sings backing vocals on "Classic Cars") so maybe I'll buy into this one down the road. Maybe. Released: April 10. I'M FALLING ASLEEP, IT'S EVENING

Various Artists - A Tribute to Joni Mitchell

Was thinking about buying it, then found it in the free bin at work. What a steal.

Unfortunately, it's not really that great. The Sufjan and Bjork offerings are good - you knew I'd say that, but they really are, especially Sufjan's mad-genius version of "A Free Man in Paris" - but Prince sounds like a parody of himself and most of the rest I'll probably never listen to again - why bother when I already have the originals?

And why does the picture of Joni on the cover make it look like she's dead? It's a tribute, not a memorial. Released: April 24. BLUE

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

*Snore* Released: January 23. SNORE

Five Questions with Jen: Lily Allen - Alright, Still

2007-04-16T08:06:00.000-04:00

Excuse me for gushing, but my girlfriend Jen finally bought an album that doesn't make me wretch. Our musical tastes diverge quite a bit, and although she's tolerant of my stuff (and even likes some of it), I have trouble swallowing her music. I'm a snob and she's a top 40 girl.

But a few weeks ago, Jen bought the new Lily Allen - and I really dig it. So I sat down with Jen (okay, we did this via email) and asked her about the album.

1. First off, who the heck is Lily Allen and what is Alright, Still? And is it any good?

Sorry, I still don't know that much about Lily Allen. I could have done some research, and I really meant to, but it felt too much like homework and I am going to have a lot of that to do come September, and I don't plan on starting a minute earlier.

I was introduced to her one Saturday night as I was watching SNL, not something I normally watch but I was up waiting for a certain person (more on that later; see my answer to question No. 3), and I needed a distraction, even a bad one, at the moment. While watching the show I thought I found something new -- me, finally, finding something different and interesting in music!

I could not wait to share that with others, especially the ones that tell me I need to find some new music, but when I went to tell my sister she said that Lily Allen was old news and I was still "behind the times". That did not change my opinion of the album, however. I can relate to many of the songs. I think most people, especially women, but also those in and out of relationships, having to go to clubs to meet people, or still young enough or possibly optimistic enough to find good things in not-so-great situations can relate, too.

2. The album is hip-hop, is it not? Records I Buy doesn't really dig hip-hop but it likes this album. Is it because we're elitist (it's European!) or are we outright racists (she's white!)?

(No answer.)

3. Let's talk about the first track, 'Smile'. Might you have a story about that song? Perhaps about a boyfriend going out drinking and not calling? How was that song helpful?

Smile was the song I saw performed on SNL. It's about a girl whose relationship ends because the guy is a schmuck (aren't they all;) and now she wants to see him hurt. I took it to mean emotionally hurt, unlike the video (which takes on another form of hurting that I could get behind for the right person, or should I say If the right person did something to deserve it). The video is posted below.

Anyway, the song is a great break-up song, or at least a great "revenge" song and at the moment I was watching it, that felt like something I needed to hear ... posssibly because a certain boyfriend stayed out all night long drinking with his buddies and not bothering to call to let his girlfriend know how late he was going to be. Or maybe it was another reason, and perhaps the first one was just an example -- because, as you all know, MY boyfriend would NEVER do something like that. He is way too thoughtful.

4. Do you have another favorite song on the album? What do you like about it?

My other favorite song is Knock 'Em Out. This song is for any person, guy or girl, who has been hit on by someone that they are just not interested in, and that person will not take the hint. I am sure that everyone has had this happen at least once in their lives. I was usually too nice and would get stuck talking to that particular person.

The main character in this song would not have stood for it. She had some great excuses that I may want to keep on file for future use, such as, " Nah I've got go cuz my house is on fire".

5. If you had to sum up your impressions of this album in one illustrative vocabulary word - a la Record I Buy reviews - what would that word be?

I DON'T HAVE A WORD, YOU THINK OF SOMETHING.

All in all, I may not have been the first to discover her, but I am glad that I did. Now I have music that is included on the "2007 playlist".

Hoboken is Flooding

2007-04-15T23:52:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Part II of the All Hell Breaks Loose in Hoboken series on this formerly music-themed blog.

The following is a video I just shot of my basement, which is rapidly filling with water. When we got home from the Newport mall this afternoon, water was rushing into it like a waterfall but you could still walk to the washer and dryer. Now it's up to the third step.

No one in my apartment building seems concerned. A guy from the third floor came down this evening with laundry and when I told him he might want to rethink that, he laughed and told me the thought hadn't occured to him that the basement might be flooding. To his credit, he called the building's maintenance number from his cell phone. He was told to "wait until it stops raining."

Great.

I also took a video of my front steps and Madison St., but it's too dark to see. Hoboken is the new Venice.

I have Hoboken411.com's live police scanner streaming through iTunes. About a half hour ago, they announced that all personnel should remain at their posts - meaning a shift change was due. One guy radioed back that he'd stay at his post - but he needed to change his wet pants first. UPDATE: There has now been, according to the scanner, a giant mudslide on Sinatra Drive. Oy vey.

Oh, and Hoboken is still burning, at least somewhere. Fire trucks are making a major racket.

Hoboken is Burning

2007-04-15T19:24:00.000-04:00

A break in our regularly scheduled music program for some pictures of Hoboken, flooded and on fire. Jen and I had to wade home from the PATH this afternoon in knee-deep water. No joke. Our basement is flooded, too, and the water's still rising...

These shots are from 2nd and Madison and 2nd and Jefferson, looking at a huge fire still burning at a lumber yard on 2nd and Clinton. We knew there was a fire somewhere because we smelled smoke. Jen went around the corner and saw heavy black smoke filling the air, and came inside to get me.

The floodwater shot at the end is not nearly as impressive as what Jen and I saw during our swim home. Waves were crashing against buildings, cars were nearly submerged and you couldn't even see the sidewalk in places. But I didn't have my camera then, and all we wanted to do was get home and get warm...

For more photos, and to see the above shots in their full-sized glory, click here.

How to Kill a Euro Dance Party

2007-04-09T16:35:00.000-04:00

1) Observe many underaged Spanish girls dancing wildly.

2) Decide to be retro (in honor of the recently married groom.)

3) Decide early R.E.M. is a good era to represent.

4) Find out the DJ has no "End of the World as We Know It"

5) Settle for "Losing My Religion (Nuevo Remix)"

6) Wait for said "Nuevo Remix" to come on.

7) Literally watch the lithe, ripe, undulating, underaged Spanish girls stop undulating and go back to their tables as the song you selected starts playing.

8) Sulk.

Alanis' Lovely Lady Lumps

2007-04-07T00:15:00.000-04:00

This has been making the rounds for several days but I'm posting it now because 1) Steph emailed me a link to it today and I finally watched it and 2) I am sick of seeing Keith Richards at the top of my blog. And, yes, 3) it's funny. Although I am not sure if Alanis is one to talk, considering some of her past gems.

Keith Richards Did Not Snort His Father

2007-04-03T20:13:00.000-04:00

~~Keith Richards mixed his dead father's ashes with cocaine and inhaled it. Really. I'm not making this up.~~ UPDATE: Now it appears HE was making it up. Not that I totally believe him, but whatever. I'm tired of this story now anyway.

From the original story:

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," Richards was quoted as saying by British music magazine NME.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared," he said. "... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."

Bjork's Actual Artwork for Volta

2007-04-02T15:40:00.000-04:00

Yes, indeed. And no, it's not April 1 anymore.

You can read more about it at Pitchfork. To me, it looks like a soda bottle with feet. Or, even better, like one of these with feet:

But here's where I piss Bjork haters off: I like it. I am not only still psyched about Volta, I am even more stoked about it now. Why? Because, like Bjork says in the Pitchfork interview, the bright colors (and comic elements) are a real contrast to her last several albums (re: every one since Post) and represents a thematic change as well. To me, that's refreshing. A fun, danceable Bjork album sounds just about perfect.

RIB Notes: It's a Word Document

2007-03-31T09:03:00.000-04:00

And now for a few musical tidbits as I wait for my hearing to return after last night's Long Winters show at Maxwell's - which was excellent, by the way, especially when lead singer John Roderick, suffering from a cold that forced him to miss soundcheck while asleep in his van, finally got his mic levels right. I'm still kicking myself for not bringing enough cash to afford one of those damn $3 Long Winters kazoos, having foolishly spent everything I had on beer. What was I thinking?

Not long after chronicling my run-ins with Yo La Tengo in Hoboken (see link at end of note), I found myself on the PATH train with Georgia Hubley. I was sitting in a mostly empty car when she walked in and sat next to me on the other side of the bench for the trip into Manhattan. She wore ratty old sneakers and carried a well-worn bag, looking more like a homeless lady than a rock star. She got off at 14th street (or was it 9th? I forget now). I don't think anyone else recognized her. [A Taste of Hoboken: Stalking Yo La Tengo]

Once again, The Innocence Mission has cancelled tour dates due to illness. I can't remember who it was that was sick the last time I had tickets, but now it's Karen with "bronchitis/laryngitis" and the World Cafe Live show in Philly and the Southpaw in Brooklyn shows are off - or more likely just postponed, we don't know yet. I have tickets to the latter, of course. [The Innocence Mission Official Web Site]

R.E.M. made a big hubbub on Thursday, sending out emails to fan club members (which I am no longer because I got lazy and never renewed several years ago) telling them a major announcement was coming yesterday afternoon. Speculation on Murmurs.com ran rampant - including the usual Bill-Berry-is-coming-back chatter. As it turns out, the band simply announced a five-night stint at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin and a presale for fan clubbers.

No big deal, really, except for one heartening aspect of this: It's being called a "working rehearsal" for the new album. Very refreshing - a lot of fans, including myself, feel that the last couple albums could have been helped by fleshing them out live beforehand. [REMHQ]

Speaking of R.E.M., my all-time most hated R.E.M. lyric - "Leaving was never my proud" from Leaving New York - made a Spinner list of the 20 Worst Lyrics Ever, checking in at No. 15. They also (cleverly) revisit their assault on Stipe in their comments on entry No. 13 if you're interested. [Spinner's 20 Worst Lyrics Ever]

Pitchfork does an excellent roundup of all the little teaser videos and sound clips Bjork has been floating around the Interweb concerning her upcoming album Volta. [Bjork Trickling Out Volta Teasers]

I have been listening quite a bit to both the new Lilly Allen and the new Andrew Bird records. Eventually I will write more about each of them. For now, I will say that both are excellent and certainly worth checking out.

Merlin Mann, of MacBreak Weekly fame, started up his own new video podcast called The Merlin Show, which so far has featured interviews with John Vanderslice, Peter Hughes (of The Mountain Goats) and the aforementioned Roderick of The Long Winters. I haven't watched them yet, although I did see the first few minutes of the Vanderslice interview. I was digging it before my ADD kicked in. [The Merlin Show]

And finally, a video that reminded coworker Eric of my music snobbery:

The Long Winters: Live in Graz

2007-03-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

The Long Winters are coming to Hoboken/NYC this weekend. (I'll be at the Maxwell's show on Friday night if you want to say hi.) So Moni would be remiss not to provide Records I Buy with another fine review, as all bands seem to head for the tri-state area after conquering Austria. Click the photo below for the Flickr set.

Band: The Long Winters
Date: 03/03/07
Venue: Veilchen, Graz, Austria
Rating: 4.5/5

I made the two-hour trip to see The Long Winters in Graz. The Veilchen is a cosy little venue (capacity maybe 200) in a huge park in the city. The show started late (maybe twenty minutes before midnight), and the place was almost packed with mostly not-too-drunk people. It always adds to the quality of a show when there is chemistry between the band and the audience, which was certainly the case that night.

When a friend of mine recently saw The Long Winters in Paris (opening for Keane), he said he it had seemed to him singer/songwriter/guitarist John Roderick was "under the influence". To which another friend said "Oh no, John's just naturally high." In Graz, at the last show of the band's Euro spring tour, John Roderick's natural highness peaked. The man’s got charisma he should sell in bottles and also delivers some great banter along with the music. And tonight John was in a particularly playful mood.

After opening with a semi-acoustic It’ll be a Breeze, the energy of the set rose and remained at peak level throughout — as opposed to their last show in Vienna in November, where for some reason things just didn’t quite take off. My personal favourite was Sky Is Open, a song they just added to their setlist on this tour. John introduced Honest, a song about falling in love with a rock singer, by stating that it was totally okay to be in love with him, but not “the Decemberists’ Colin Meloy. Or Robert Plant. Don’t do that.” I’ve seen Nora performed a few times, but this one crushed pretty much any other version I’ve heard so far, with John going nucking futs during his solo. Setlist staple Cinnamon got the whole crowd singing and dancing.

The Commander Thinks Aloud has gone from “we only play it when we feel like it” to a regular in their live repertoire, which is a very good thing. I just secretly wish they would leave the synth-bits off the live version. I once saw the song performed by Roderick, accompanied by the members of the fabulous Centro-Matic, who joined him on stage. If I would normally use grand words like “visceral” or “poignant”, that’s what I would say to describe this performance. The simple instrumentation carried the feeling of the song better than all the synth stuff. Generally one can say though that the band tries to recreate many of the arrangements, sounds and flibbity-jibbity from their albums, but thankfully without sounding too much like the recorded versions of the songs.

When John said, in reference to the Turkish-Austrian wars, that, "I like the Turks. They’re nice people. Unless of course they come slicing your head of. Well nobody likes that", a voice from the back of the room stated matter-of-factly, "I like it." A touch of Monty Python was in the air. Then John went on to introduce the band, claiming that global warming was all Eric Corson's (bass) fault (“You hippie!”), and partially Jonathan Rothman's (keys, guitars, kazoo). But certainly not Nabil Ayers' (drums, moustache).

Theoretically I could complain there were too few songs from the first record played — there were the lovely Scent of Lime and a sexy Carparts, but that song has never been the same since Sean Nelson left the band — but after all, I could have requested them. The Long Winters honor almost all requests, sometimes even those for a Van Halen cover (Hot for Teacher!), and they even might give you a vandalized version of Stairway to Heaven if you ask for it one too many times.

NPR's All Songs Considered - Spring Music Preview

2007-03-26T10:13:00.000-04:00

If you don't already podcast NPR's All Songs Considered, you should start now. Their current episode, at least as this blog entry is being posted, is a spring music preview that includes clips from the new Wilco, Will Hermes' very glowing first impressions of the upcoming Bjork album (did you notice in my last post that the fire spells Volta?!), and a preview of the upcoming Tori Amos album, American Doll Posse. They mention the (surreal) photo above (click for the full-sized image) in the podcast, so I figured I'd track it down and post it here. Notice the blood dripping down her leg and the word Shame scrawled on her left palm.

I haven't cared about Tori Amos in a long time, but the clips they play of the new album actually have that old fire that Tori used to have before she went adult contemporary. Will she hold that fire through the whole album, and, if she does, will it just get annoying? Probably.

Bjork's Artwork for Volta

2007-03-20T23:24:00.000-04:00

She has more awesomeness in her pinky toenail...

UPDATE: Actually, turns out THIS is the artwork.

A Taste of Hoboken: Stalking Yo La Tengo

2007-03-18T12:47:00.000-04:00

I guess every rock fan in Hoboken has some cute/obnoxious little run-in story about Yo La Tengo, our own local living and breathing rock Gods (and Goddess). My story has always been about taking the PATH train from Manhattan in the middle of the night with husband-and-wife band members Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley.

If I remember correctly, it was already quite a night for rock 'n roll, as I was on my way home from the Arcade Fire show in Central Park that featured a surprise appearance from Mr. David Bowie. Georgia and Ira were on the PATH with their bikes and I found myself standing right between them, arms distance away. Of course I never trust my instincts so for a second or two I wasn't entirely sure it was them, and neither, apparently, was some other guy on the train, leaning against the door with headphones on. I looked at him and our eyes met for an instant. "Yo La Tengo?" he mouthed to me. I smiled and nodded.

My other Yo La Tengo sighting was on a certain street in Hoboken, in front of a particular apartment building that will go unnamed. Again it was Ira and Georgia. They were sitting on the front steps. For a while, every time I passed this building I kept an eye out for them, assuming this was where they lived. Eventually, I moved to a new place and stopped passing the building on my way to work. And I basically forgot all about it.

Until last week.

Jen and I were out with a real estate agent looking at apartments (we were thinking about buying, but I think we've abandoned that for now) and, sure enough, she takes us to the Yo La Tengo building. Was Georgia coming out of the elevator? Was Ira in his bathrobe grabbing a copy of the Hoboken Reporter? Were we being shown THEIR apartment? No, none of that. But because I'm a freak, I just had to know if this was really their building. So when our real estate lady was busy talking to Jen and my parents, who were down for the occasion, I snuck into the little corner where the mailboxes are. Sure enough, there was a list of tenants' names on the wall.

One of them was "Kaplun".

With a "u".

With that, my little spying adventure ended, and I rejoined the group down the hall. The apartment was nice enough, but not exactly what we were looking for. So I'll probably never know if the tenant really is some schlub named "Kaplun" or if it's a spelling error. Oh well. Rock on.

Vinyl Bonus Track of the Week: Shooting Star (sketch) - The Innocence Mission

2007-03-18T12:29:00.000-04:00

My vinyl copy of We Walked in Song arrived this week, with the far superior paper-cutouts artwork. (And since I use the vinyl art in iTunes, the CD artwork basically no longer exists in my world.)

I have a nice little collection of IM vinyl - including my Holy Grail, the ultra-rare Tending the Rose Garden EP - and this one I would have bought regardless of the fact that it contains a bonus track, Shooting Star (sketch). Shooting Star is the perfect little gem of a bonus track. Short, sweet, just what you want in a song that you and five other people will ever hear. (Sort of like We Walked in Song, the album.)

The lyrics, about the frequent IM theme of watching a loved one go away, contain the chorus, "Wherever you go, it's too far/You're a shooting star".

Now all I have to do is find a way to get it on my iPod.

(By the way, according to the packaging, the vinyl was pressed in the Czech Republic. I wonder where exactly. Hmmm.)

Bill Berry was a Workin' Man

2007-03-16T08:26:00.000-04:00

Bill Berry rejoined R.E.M. briefly for Monday's Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which I missed because I don't have cable and my Internet was out. %$%&^#^&&)^%$%!

Oh, well, it's only the Hall of Fame anyway. Still, if you want to hear Berry playing with the boys again, he does so on their latest track, a cover of John Lennon's "#9 Dream" that I really want to love but actually doesn't do too much for me.

Judge for yourself.

At least it's for a good cause.

#9 Dream - R.E.M. [iTunes]

The Decemberists: Live in Vienna

2007-03-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

With Colin Meloy @ Co. coming to Jersey City's Landmark Loew's Theatre next week, it seemed a fine time to introduce fellow Decemberists fan and RIB's brand new foreign correspondent (no kidding), the delightful and talented Moni. Moni was born and raised in Salzburg, Austria, but spends a lot of time in the U.S. stalking Ken Stringfellow and The Long Winters. She also attended Bowling Green and got a master's in music history. She now lives in Vienna, working as a secretary for the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. She caught The Decemberists last month and filed this review - plus Flickr photos (just click the image below) - for your reading pleasure.

Band: The Decemberists
Date: 02/19/07
Venue: Flex, Vienna, Austria.
Rating: 5/5

The Flex in Vienna, a popular DJ club, is a completely impractical place for a live show. It's basically a long, dark tube, so be prepared to bring your binoculars when the concert—like this one—is sold out and you walk in relatively late. Luckily, I snuck in at just the right time to claim a spot in the second row.

I don't really want to lose too many words on the support act, Lavender Diamond. Suffice to say their music is actually pretty good, but the front lady has an insufferable hippie-thing going on. When the keyboard player cut his finger, she introduced every song by calling "more blood!" Oh how we laughed.

Colin Meloy, looking like your favourite English teacher, came onstage for a short solo rendition of Ultravox's "Vienna", before finally opening the set with "The Crane Wife 3". The band is tight at all times, Colin's voice is spot-on.

I have seen the Decemberists only once so far, at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle in 2003. Above all, I remember Colin rolling on the floor during the outro of "I Was Meant For the Stage". The biggest question on my mind going into to The Flex was how would they bring their elaborate musical arrangements to the stage. They are not going to bring a French horn ensemble, right? Well they did not, and they didn't need to. A battery of string instruments, a xylophone and a hurdy-gurdy were sufficient to never make you feel that there is something missing from the music. It's all there, just more lively, and more intense.

The heart- and gut-wrenching "The Island" probably left me with the biggest impression. After a very quiet rendition of "The Shankill Butchers", the hit-single double "O Valencia" and "16 Military Wives" gives way to a neat little moshpit in the back of the room.

Lavender Diamond are allowed back on stage for the last song before the encore, "Sons and Daughters". Colin conducts the audience through the la-de-daah-chorus of "16 Military Wives", sends his drummer and his bassist crowdsurfing and goes for a guitar-solo duel with Chris Funk (it's a tie!) during a neverending version of "Chimbley Sweep". And he's having fun, just like the audience and the rest of the band.

Records I Buy: Blind Items You Can Trust

2007-03-11T19:37:00.000-04:00

This past week we learned that RIB's first (and still only) blind item, from back in December, was spot-on accurate.

In other words, the not-so-well-disguised "three-legged rock band" - namely R.E.M. - has indeed brought in a new producer for their upcoming album. He's called Jacknife Lee and he'll oversee the recording scheduled to begin soon. If you've never heard of him, he was responsible for U2's actually-not-so-bad "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" and albums from Bloc Party and Snow Patrol. I am not sure whether to be encouraged by this news, but it's good to see Pat McCarthy finally get shelved. Hopefully this will help re-energize the band.

Ultimately, though, it's the quality of the work, and not the producer, that matters most.

Wherein I pass judgement on Jeff Tweedy after 7:45 of material

2007-03-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

The proprietor of this publishing venture has crowned me "expert in all things Wilco." This, of course, is true. The thing I'm not an expert on is any other musical artist, genre or period. So, I can only compare Wilco to itself -- or, more precisely, Jeff to Jeff.

(Or, if I stretch, Jeff to Geoff.)

Luckily, there's new grist for my one talent: two tracks from Wilco's upcoming (and highly anticipated) Sky Blue Sky were leaked last week. I grabbed them and took a listen.

Here's the thing: these two tracks sound like nothing else Jeff has done (save for maybe some of those psuedo-unreleased Yankee Hotel tracks like "Magazine called Sunset" or that one about Dylan growin' a lotta facial hair.) They're simple, jammy and not nearly as gravely as Jeff usually is. Both are similar enough that it sounds like the album as a whole is going to have a new sound -- smoother and less prone to discordant rock out sections that marked the last two records. "You Are My Face" features a rock-out guitar solo in the middle, of course. (We're not reinventing the wheel totally: it's still Wilco). But the grit of angst seems to be fading. Maybe Jeff's methadone hits and t-shirt millions are finally kicking in -- he's crafting a summer album and not an autumn record.

Here's my assessment: No one is gonna be embarrassed by this one -- neither the fans, nor Jeff.

But, then again, what fun is Wilco if you don't listen to the album for the first time and think, "What the hell is this shite!?!"...But then slowly grow to think, "Only Jeff can turn modern times into music." We'll have to see with Sky Blue Sky, because you can only have the second reaction if you've been through the first.

(Dead Idolator link.)

RIB Notes: Yet Another Shakey Update

2007-03-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Random notes that I read about either on Stereogum, Idolator, other music blogs or, as usual, in Jimmy McDonough's Neil Young bio, Shakey.

Wilco's album cover for Sky Blue Sky, due May 15, which I really dig, looks like this:

I still have not listened to a single one of the leaked tracks, and I do not plan on listening until the day the album comes out and I own it. I am hoping Geoff G. will lend his expertise on all things Wilco to RIB in the coming days. So far I've read: it has too many guitar solos, it's too 70's pop-sounding, it's freakin' awesome, it's fuckin' awful, it's quiet, it's loud, it's better than A Ghost is Born, and it's worse than A Ghost is Born.

Figurines' album cover for Skeleton, a record that finished 9th on RIB's Top 10 Albums of 2006, looks like this:

The band's new video, for Back in the Day, offers its own take on the album cover, and ends by showing you how the funky five-eyed character might have ended up in his final, immortalized pose. Another excellent track from an album that not enough people own:

Apparently, when I was a kid and my world hadn't yet begun revolving around MTV, Neil Young released a video that was a real slap-in-the-face to corporate rock. The 1988 clip, for "This Note's For You", pokes fun at product placement and pop stars like Michael Jackson and ends with Neil holding a soda can with the words "SPONSORED BY NOBODY" affixed to it. MTV wouldn't play it at first but eventually caved when it became clear they were making fools of themselves by refusing to play a video whose point about the network's own greed hit a bit too close to home. Later, MTV would give it their Video of the Year award:

And, finally, Joanna Newsom is releasing a new EP on April 24, much to my delight and the chagrin of every single other person I know. In case you're wondering, I haven't seen the album cover yet, but every track starts with the letter C - the new one, "Colleen", plus new versions of "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" and "Cosmia" - and it's called "Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band". Gotta love it. (Okay, I realize you probably don't.)

RIB Review: The Innocence Mission - We Walked In Song

2007-03-08T01:12:00.000-05:00

Where, where the hell is Bill?
- Camper Van Beethoven

The above could be the theme song for disgruntled R.E.M. fans like myself who have been mostly disappointed with the band's output since the departure of drummer Bill Berry (with the exception of 1998's Up, which I adore). The Innocence Mission, too, lost their drummer, Steve Brown, in 1999, and, like R.E.M., haven't replaced him. Brown left the band to pursue a career as a chef, opening Lily's On Main in Ephrata, Pa. and another in nearby Lancaster, IM's home base. I had lunch one day at the Ephrata restaurant - a classy joint with an ambiance reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh - and the food was excellent. I didn't work up the courage to ask if Steve was in the kitchen at the time.

But IM's drummer-free work has actually been quite good. For example, their last album, Befriended, was too short and too sparse at times, but it's a no-doubt-about-it treasure (NPR even named it Album of the Year).

And so is We Walked in Song - way too short, so light it could float away, and just so damn lovable you want to sleep with it under your pillow. All it really lacks is the punch, the drive, the backbone, that only drums can provide. Don Peris hits the skins a bit on We Walked in Song, but his playing is rudementary at best and sounds distant, like it's coming out of a different speaker. The songs are at worst very, very good, and mostly great - if this doesn't end up high on my Top 10 list for 2007 then it will have been a transcendently fabulous year for music - but they're never driven home the way they were on IM's masterpiece, 1995's Glow. Which makes We Walked in Song more like an album of lullabies (which wouldn't be a first for them).

A few days ago on this blog, I called We Walked in Song "a tad boring". I like the album more today than I did when I wrote that, but I can't completely back down from it. As a small indie folk outfit from Amish country who puts family ahead of touring and whom you'd never expect (or really want) to experiment, picking up their latest work isn't supposed to shock or shift paradigms or break new ground sonically. And basic themes will be repeated from album to album. But I do miss the beat, I do miss quiet songs that explode or rocking songs that take it to the next level.

Don't get me wrong: IM is my favorite band, and this album is another classic that I'll be listening to until I keel over (if you've never heard of this band before, stop reading this blog and start buying everything they've ever recorded). But while We Walked in Song fits comfortably into IM's near-sacred body of work, I am left wondering, as another year goes by, even though I know the answer, where, where the hell is Steve? Released: It'll be in stores on Tuesday. BLESSED.

The Innocence Mission's MySpace page (with streaming audio)

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (First Impressions)

2007-03-06T23:47:00.000-05:00

As the last few minutes of Tuesday tick away, I (or is it we? ... still haven't worked out RIB's pronouns yet) would be remiss if I didn't write a little something about Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, which was released today. I braved the bitter cold to pick it up from Tunes on my way home from work and sat down after dinner with it, listening once straight through as Jen curled up on the recliner next to me. I have now only heard the album once, so I am indeed a purist when I say these are my first impressions...

There will be all sorts of takes on Arcade Fire's sophomore album, but I think plenty of Neon Bible reviewers will fall into one of two extremist groups: The over-hypers and the inevitable backlashers. The over-hypers will say it's even better than Funeral!, while the inevitable backlashers will say one or more of the following: Funeral was a fluke, Arcade Fire is overrated, Funeral wasn't really that good, Neon Bible is a pale imitation, etc. The backlash is going to come as it always does, and it will fill those who never liked Arcade Fire - or those who did but hate that everyone else does now, too - with devilish glee.

Cleverly, I am skirting those and other categories myself by posting first impressions and not a full-on review. Still, as a relatively early adopter of Arcade Fire, I could easily fall into the backlasher group - if it wasn't for the fact that 1) I am thrilled that people have discovered and embraced this band and 2) If people do or do not embrace them, it doesn't affect what actually matters, which is the music. I think Arcade Fire makes important music, which should be heard and enjoyed, and I think Neon Bible is an important album.

Time will tell. As Funeral was introspective, about death and, even more importantly, about growing up, Neon Bible is worldly, about fear and about war and about America and of course about religion. It is, in my opinion, the first post-9/11 album to really capture the post-9/11 mood. Listening to it, I couldn't help but think of Radiohead's OK Computer, which seemed to reflect the spirit of the late-90's middle class teenager, moving through life on a conveyor belt, or R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People full of quiet rebellion, and, like Funeral, loss and new-found maturity.

I realize that's pretty lofty company, which is why I hate writing about an album so soon after first hearing it. I will be spinning Neon Bible quite a bit over the next few days, and months, so I'll leave my comments at that and let my thoughts and opinions develop as I go along. But I will state what is by now obvious: After one listen, I am very pleased. It's dark and rich and the lyrics are, with exceptions, brilliant. I agree with Geoff that Neon Bible's version of No Cars Go - my favorite Arcade Fire song - is at least up there with the EP version. If I had to level a criticism, it would be that Regine doesn't step up to the mic enough, but that's far from a dealbreaker. Released: Today. WORTHY.

Wonderin' - Neil Young and The Shocking Pinks

2007-03-05T01:35:00.000-05:00

As I progress through Jimmy McDonough's "Shakey", I learn more and more about Neil (Son of God) Young's 1980s, fuck-you-Geffen period, and I'm absolutely loving it.

Young released an album in 1983 called "Everybody's Rockin'" with a band he dubbed The Shocking Pinks, dedicated to 50s rockabilly and featuring the immortal track "Kinda Fonda Wanda". A horrid album that was cited, along with Trans, as being "not commercial" and "musically uncharacteristic" of his previous work in David Geffen's famed November '83 lawsuit (which R.E.M. later cited as a reason they didn't sign with Geffen when they left IRS).

But McDonough points to "Wonderin'" (especially the video) as the lone highlight. The video, which has a very scruffy looking Neil out of sync with the background, was directed by Tim Pope, an Englishman from the punk scene who had hardly ever heard of Neil before.

Not owning the album, and having never seen the video, I checked it out on YouTube. It's classic. I even used my iTunes gift card to download the song. Long live Shakey.

NWA's "Help the Police"

2007-03-04T11:43:00.000-05:00

Via The Web Shite

They Might Be Ring Tones

2007-03-01T00:24:00.000-05:00

Actually, no doubt about it, they are. (Well, Wired is calling them snack tones, but whatever.)

We've had Call Connected Thru the NSA as our ring tone for months now, ever since we isolated it from a They Might Be Giants podcast, along with such instant classics as Miniature Sidewalk Whirlwind and I'm Your Boyfriend Now. Obviously, we highly recommend it.

They Might Be Giants - Call Connected Thru the NSA [mp3]