Dreaming a heart broken dream?

Yesterday I went to the book store to pick up a novel for my fathers birthday. As I walked in I was immediately greeted by a woman sitting alone at a desk signing her newly published book on one of those silly book tours that people love to do. Of course, nobody cared they walked past her ignoring the novel and the chance to have it signed. I kept walking and I tried to put it out of my mind the best I could.  But of course, I couldn't. There was something sad about seeing this woman introducing herself to random strangers trying to get some attention. You could tell that she was enthusiastic about this book, and I could tell she put some thought into writing it. But yet, it was ignored left to sit in isolation completely ignored. As a wanna be writer I began to imagine myself in her position. I pictured myself waiting for some one just to look at me. Say hey I liked your book alot! But I knew that would never come and I began to feel my dream melt away. As I left the book store my dads gift in hand I began to question if it was better to have your dream destroyed and face the feeling of disappointment, or if it was better not to dream at all. I wonder if that book will ever mean anything to anybody. I sure as hell hope so.

Be hip! Find thse bands before anybody else!

1: 2:54
Sometimes, the hype machine known as British publicity, finds a band that, well might be worth the hype! For example, look at Oasis and Arctic Monkeys both went on to do great things. Next on the list for hyped up British bands is a sister rock duo by the bizarre name of 2:54. The vocals here are quite stunning. Hannah Thurlow has a voice like a grunge goddess made for the new generation. The sound is best compared like a blend of The XX and Sleigh Bells with Alice in Chains kind of grunge guitar work. There is something undeniably sexy about the band though. The lyrics are often intense with the subtle but wicked good guitar work only adding to the intensity. Currently they are not on Youtube, so would you kindly http://www.myspace.com/thetwofiftyfour give them a listen? They are well worth your time and if the demos they place on Myspace are any indication, they will do something quite remarkable once they hit.

2: The Weekend.
I once said that a certain album from back in 2007 would bring about the future of music and it would be unique and lovely. That album was called "Untrue" and it was by a man named Burial. Currently that album is sitting high beloved by critics and fans alike. Some critics even went as far as to call it the best album of the decade. But it seems that I wasn't bat shit crazy when I said that it really was the future.The way I would describe The Weekend, is like this: If Bruno Mars and Burial had a weird depressed suicidal baby, it would sound like this. Like Burial the sound is claustrophobic intense and lonely, (I have often compared it to walking in the rain alone in the dead of night) But the lyrics are like a heart broken Bruno Mars. There is something quietly passionate about the words the singer mutters even if it is processed through a filter that makes him sound distant and haunted. There is something chilling about some of their songs (some tracks tend to veer off into the poppy side) but there are a few brilliant twisting tracks that will send chills down your spine. (Also, there is a a girl pop band called The  Weekend don't be confused.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGfb9TkLnWE the track that keeps catching my attention.

Taste... How does that work!?

Animal Collective is considered today to be one of the most unique and interesting bands on the planet does it mean they're good?

Slipknot is one of the more loved bands of the heavy metal community but does that mean they make good music?

Recently, I was hanging around my friends (Yes I have friends!) and they seem to have an almost obsessive love for heavy metal. Now as you can tell I am a man who enjoys indie kid music and classic rock... Which was kind of the genesis of indie kid music. But yet as my friends headbanged listening to bands like Bullet For My Valentine and Slipknot and I couldn't help but think that the music they were into, was total shit. Of course, that thought lead me to another idea and that was, well, what is GOOD music? What is bad music? Is there even good or bad music? The question kind of pestered at my mind the entire day. Then like a thunder bolt I remembered a quote that friend of mine once said. He told me that there was no such thing as bad music, just music that you don't like. A light clicked and I quickly found that this friend (abnormally wise in this case) was correct. Music is simply the most personal art form ever to exist. Every song a picture, what may look beautiful to one person may look awful to another. For example almost everybody in the hipster community will likely consider almost any of Animal Collectives albums works of art, while people in the metal head community will think that AC is only a pretentious mess of sound, and vice versa. Your taste in just about anything is something that never really stops developing. The question of, what makes music good or bad is not a universal question but a personal question. Your taste in movies music clothes men women ECT is not only your choice, but its apart of you. Its like an unseen birthmark that continues to grow or the way you look. its like a religion something that you believe in, you may find others who partake in it but it is still primarily your own observation and interpretation. People can talk about it, they can hate it, they can love it but above all that matters is that you like the music you listen to. So in the end, yes there is no such thing as good or bad music so long as you are interested in it. So stop being so damn pretentious and just accept one and other! (That means you silly hipsters)

My favorite songs of the 2000's

This is going to be a list counting down my top ten favorite tracks of the past ten years. These are purely personal choices not THE BEST of the decade. So enjoy, Ill be pulling up a new song every day or so. So keep watching! You might pick up a new favorite band or song!

Number 10: "Wolf Like Me"- TV On The Radio

Songs about love are so frequent and often times irritating that it comes as a relief to hear a song like "Wolf Like Me." The song describes the desire not for love or attention or anything romantic of that nature, but an almost psychotic lust for sex.  The song has a certain intensity  that boils over layers and layers of static and white noise that builds to an explosive conclusion. It never feels like a particularity fast song yet that doesn't stop it from feeling like an adrenaline rush. The songs conclusion is easily the huge payoff that the entire song seems to be pushing for. Once its done however, the feeling of intensity it creates doesn't leave you . The feeling that you get is kind of like watching a good horror movie. You know you're watching (in this case listening) to something that is morally wrong and at times shocking but man, its just so damn good!

Number 9: "The Moon"- The Microphones

There once existed a band so talented and so unique that they could keep it together only for a tragically short period of time. That band was called The Neutral Milk Hotel. The band benefited from a unique lo fi sound that was instantly recognizable unique and yet familiar. Now the reason why I would start my paragraph this way is because the only band I can ever compare The Microphones to is Neutral Milk Hotel. The prime reason why is the 3rd track off their seventh album. "The Moon" has a very distinct sound building up using a few acoustic chords before letting lose into a giant explosion of static and intensely personal lyrics. Phil Evrum depicts a romance that feels so perfect and wonderful that it can only exist in fantasy. But of course it isn't perfect and it collapses leaving Evrum to reminisce on the moments that were undeniably perfect to him. The lyrics switch from wonderfully romantic to crippling heartbreak usually within a few seconds. The romance that Evrum sings about is heartwarming and tear jerking. He describes a true love with liberating detail, there is a certain sense of freedom that the listener will achieve, even if they have never felt true love, or events like the ones Evrum describes it is still instantly relate able. So far you have not heard me mention anything besides the lyrics, so you may be wondering what about the sound to the whole song. Well honestly, the thing that I find so perfect about this song is that the sound only adds to it. Making it whole. This would still be very much the same song if Evrum was to speak the words without instrumentation. Yes the static is strangely inviting and the use of lazy sounding trumpets and trombones is lovely. But this is very much a story, not a song. The reason why I started with the whole Neutral Milk Hotel comparison is because you never find songs like this. A track that sends the wide range of emotions all across the board. Like Jeff Mangum, Phill Evrum is able to do what very few musicians could ever dream of doing, and that's creating a passionate real and utterly human story of love loss and all of the emotions that come with it. 

Number 8: "Stuck Between The Stations" The Hold Steady

There are some nights, when there is really only one band that feels natural to listen to. When every awkward boy walks away with an awkward girl and their friends are too wasted to even pay attention to whats going on around them. The Hold Steady have been granted (and have held) the title of America's bar band ever since their debut "Almost Killed Me" back in 2004 and the one thing that the band has always gotten completely right, is the song writing. Craig Fin has found a unique blend of Bruce Springsteen, Paul Westerberg and the whole of Husker Du. Almost all of his tracks deal with a party that one could call the best party ever, at least until the next party is even better. Or the bummer parties where a person gets too high or too drunk and must face the consequences of enjoying themselves just a little to much. In what is easily their career high Craig Finn, with remarkably few lyrics some describes a intense night of partying, a relationship that ended on a sour note and even a little hint at alcohol or drug addiction. "She was a really cool kisser, wasn't all that great of a girlfriend." With that simple statement, the listener is able to see the entire relationship play out as if they were an onlooker watching their best friends relationship fall to pieces. The song has a feeling like flying, the sound the band creates can really only be compared to Bruce Springsteen on Born to Run. Its like a wall of sound and an intoxicating rush of joy and nostalgia. I once heard Craig Finn say this song is all about "Art, love, depression, hiding from alcohol its fate and its about everything else." And honestly, that's all it is. A brilliant blend of strong song writing, an epic uplifting sound and of course nostalgia for the party that you wish you could live over and over again.

Number 7: "Maps"- Yeah Yeah Yeahs

 

Heartache, some know it all too well. Its a feeling that, when held inside for too long, will burst out into a wail of pain, confusion, anger,  tension and pure honest to god love. Enter Yeah Yeah Yeahs' power balled, "Maps." The song was written as an ode to long distance relationships (Frontwoman Karren O's boyfriend was currently touring with a band when the song was written) but the song comes across as more of a pre breakup song. Where one partner in the relationship tries in vain to keep the relationship going. Believe me, this song is nothing you haven't heard before. Its sad bitter and honestly quite painful. But what sets it apart is the painful heartbroken wail of Karren O. As the song progresses her voice becomes more strained to the point where she begins yelling that unforgettable but remarkably simple hook "Wait, they don't love you like I love you." The guitar work is also stunning its remarkable how much sound Nick Zinner is able to create with a few power chords and slides and how well it just fits with the pain of the lyrics, as if the guitar is trying to tell a similar story that the lyrics are. "Maps" was a surprise hit. Much like a song way back from the 90s with the small title of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" this song catapulted the band out of the underground into a mainstream audience. The band is no longer considered hip but that doesn't seem to matter. This song has a feeling of importance, of power and that makes it one of the most raw and unforgettable tracks of this generation.

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