lost in rogue valley

for the past few weeks i've been feeling like i needed some new music, but i was looking for something so specific that i was having trouble finding something that stuck. i wanted a blend of folk/country/singer-songwriter but with a full band, etc. maybe i wasn't even sure what i wanted. maybe "country" is too strong a word for what i was looking for.

but i was looking through the 'folk' tag on insomnia radio and i clicked on this band called rogue valley and it was basically everything i was looking for, plus a bit of pop and amazing cover art. plus everything is available on their website for free or pay what you can.

winter

what really gets me about this band is that, in the course of the year, they released four albums, one for each season. i think that a) this is ambitious and b) they really pulled it off. there aren't a lot of "weak" songs on any album, thrown in there just for the sake of having enough songs. i dig it.

my favourite album so far is geese in the flyway, the fall album, because it was the first one i listened to. but they're all pretty great, in my opinion.

two songs that i really like so far...

+ geese in the flyway (geese in the flyway/fall)
+ dangerous diamonds (false floors/winter)

10,000 tonnes happiness and sadness revisted

10,000 tonnes happiness and sadness

you're not quite sure what it is that makes you so sad, only vaguely aware that it is here, visiting you in the shower. just some under the surface stuff that you reveal scrubbing yourself absentmindedly. you're not even sure if it's sadness, maybe apathy or lethargy instead. but then a heavier sigh - yes, there it is. sadness, which is so close to happiness that you can mistake one for the other. happiness, contentedness, a sort of apathy or lethargy in its own way. a settlement of sorts? happiness, sadness, what's the difference? you hate euphoria - it scares you, makes you upset. never one feeling without the other. happiness and sadness inside your coffee mug; filtered coffee which tastes good because you can't afford better, made in your kitchen, sipped without thought on the cool tiled floor while your hair dries. something is missing; it's milk and sugar, but you can live without those now.

Some Albums You Should Be Listening To From Beginning To End

Some albums are just meant to be listened to from start to finish. I wrote a post once with my top 10 concept albums and this is kind of like that, except they might not have concepts or stories. I mean, even some of the ones I picked back then didn't have full stories so I suppose you could say this is just an update.

There are so many bands and artists in the world now and a lot of the time all we hear are singles and then a few other songs we downloaded from limewire (which died) because we just don't need to buy full length CDs anymore. Also a lot of full length albums suck and the best song is the single you heard on the radio. But there are some records that are just completely worth listening to from beginning to end.

[Basically this is just what I'm listening to at the moment, consider this an extensive music monday. I happen to be listening to a lot of albums and not just random songs].

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The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

This is a concept album, and it is really, really good. I don't think there's a single weak song on it. I spent a good 3-4 years denying The Arcade Fire's talent but it's safe to say I'm a convert.

Listen to: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

M. Ward - Post-War, and Hold Time

I couldn't choose between Post-War and Hold Time so I chose both. You should listen to both in a row. I always feel really satisfied with the world after listening to M. Ward.

Listen to (from Post-War): Post-War

Listen to (from Hold Time): Epistemology

The National - High Violet

The National have really outdone themselves this time. Boxer is still an album I love to listen to and High Violet has been on high rotation since I got it in [August?].

Listen to: Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

Counting Crows - Recovering The Satellites

My uncle moved in October and got rid of some of his old CDs, so I picked this one up. I've never really listened to Counting Crows before but this album is dece and perfect for when you feel like hearing music but not listening to it.

Listen to: Recovering the Satellites

Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War

Will we wake in the morning and know what it was for, up in our bedrooms, after the war?

Listen to: Take Me To The Riot

Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

"Everyone likes Belle and Sebastian" - my cousin. Belle and Sebastian can make your whole day better.

Listen to: Another Sunny Day

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YOU'RE WELCOME

Music Monday: Best Concept Albums

Guess what? I've decided to start a music Monday! Why Monday? Because of the alliteration with music and 'cause I'll have all weekend to write it when I should be doing homework. It's probably mostly going to be just a random song that came up on my iTunes and maybe I'll post a soundclip if I can figure out how. I have 1686 songs on my iTunes so that's pretty much 1686 Mondays which is um, 32 and a half years. JK I won't do a song every Monday, that's unrealistic, it might be a song or an artist or an album or a genre or something else completely unrelated like what I ate for dinner last night (chicken and mashed potatos) or the colour of my socks (white).

I'm starting off today with something special because it's what gave me the idea to do this. The title of this post is misleading. By "best" I mean "my favorite" and by "concept album" I mean "album that must be listened to starting from track 1 to the end of the cd in order and may employ recurring themes throughout the album and though individually the songs are incredible, their full potential can only be realized when listened to consecutively from beginning to end". Some of the albums I'm about to mention don't have recurring themes which is why they're not necessarily "concept albums" and I had to make my own definition.

Top 9 Concept Albums
Because I can't find a 10th one to even this out.

9. Green Day - American Idiot

Okay, I know Green Day kind of sold out with this album but that doesn't take away the affect it had on me. My dad brought this home for himself in 2004 and I just remember thinking (it's been 5 years?!?) Oh this is the band that wrote When I Come Around and popped it in the cd player. I was forevermore a fan until now when I am not really obsessed anymore. But! American Idiot is a perfect example of a concept album (a real concept album) because it is a story. We are introduced to St. Jimmy and the Jesus of Suburbia who are actually alter egos if I remember correctly. Anyways, this album holds my favorite Green Day song (Letterbomb) as well as a couple of other epics and we all know GD made history and became huge with this. Just as a sidenote, their live dvd Bullet in a Bible is pretty awesome too - they can really rock it live.

8. Rogue Wave - Asleep At Heaven's Gate

Rogue Wave has to be one of my favorite bands. I only got into them last year right before the Death Cab concert because they were the opening act and I decided to check them out. After the concert I bought Asleep at Heaven's Gate and I don't regret it for a second. This album is not a concept album like American Idiot, but the silence after the last track is so comforting it's like being laid on a cloud and I feel like I won't need to ever hear any sound ever again. Harmonium and Cheaper Than Therapy might be the best opening and closing tracks (respectively) I've ever heard on an album. Rogue Wave is kind of like Band of Horses, with beautiful melodies and harmonies and weird lyrics, only better.

7. The Decemberists - Crane Wife

I got into this band also because of DCFC, well really Chris Walla, because everytime I searched his name in brackets someone would mention that he produced for The Decemberists. The Decemberists are really catchy, especially Crane Wife, which kind of has a recurring theme. In any case, this album is quite brilliant; it's dark and sinister and feels very epic. The songs really flow together, which is what makes it such a good "concept album". I'm always kind of sad when it's over. Like American Idiot, Crane Wife has two ~10 minute songs placed at either end of the track list and I think it's a cool format and more bands should try it though it does take considerable skill to write a 10 minute song without boring the shit out of people.

6. Sarah Mclachlan - Mirrorball

Wow, it took me a while to find a picture of Sarah Mclachlan 'cause for some reason it felt really awkward to post a picture of her without a guitar. And then something wonky happened with the HTML and it wouldn't let me type on the left! Now I'm so frustrated I have to listen to Sarah Mclachlan who soothes me with her Canadian voice. Everyone knows who Sarah Mclachlan is right? She's the one who wrote "I Will Remember You" and captured the hearts of people everywhere who have hearts (and ears). Well, Mirrorball is her live cd release thing, and holy shit, if you only want to buy one Sarah Mclachlan album, buy this one. I actually didn't buy mine, I found it. Best! Find! Ever!

5. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

What do you do when you're in Amoeba in San Francisco and you can buy anything you want? Go out on a limb and buy something you're not quite sure of, which is obvs what I did with Modest Mouse or else I wouldn't be telling this story. Isaac Brock is a lyrical genius, really. He's right up there with Conor Oberst which is saying something (!!). The lyrics carry the album as well as the gritty sound and bitterness which make me imagine Brock drunk in a bar stumbling around at 3 am. Personal favorite songs on this album: Missed the Boat, and Little Motel. Modest Mouse also boasts a lineup which includes Johnny Marr, ex-guitarist for The Smiths. Like come on. Just go buy their shit already.

4. Bright Eyes - Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Oh, Conor, Conor, Conor. If I could write one song as well as him I think I would retire my guitar forever. How does he do it?! I think the answer is drugs and alcohol. I was having a conversation with Amanda the other day and she was saying how the "tortured artist" is redundant, 'cause artists are tortured by nature. Conor writes some pretty fucked up stuff, maybe that's why he's so brilliant. This is one of my favorite Bright Eyes albums.

3. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy

Okkervil River is a recent discovery for me but they've quickly become a favorite. I'd heard lots of good things about Black Sheep Boy (apparently it's their best album) so I went out and bought it. It's lived up to expectations. Black Sheep Boy is a true concept album (one of the few on this list) but each individual song carries it's own wave of delicious heartbreak. Interestingly enough, Black Sheep Boy (the opening track) is not an original composition but I love how they turned a small idea into a whole album. I'm waiting for Okkervil River to write a 10 minute song like The Decemberists.

2. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Okay, I have a few things to say about this. First, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness has to be my favorite name for an album ever. Ev-er. Second, it holds some of my favorite Smashing Pumpkins songs like Take Me Down and Beautiful and Bullet With Butterfly Wings. Honestly, this album is epic. It has two discs and the whole thing just feels so romantic, but an edgy kind of romantic. Romance with a knife. Billy Corgan was, and always will be, very, very strange.

1. Pink Floyd - The Wall

The Wall: A concept album. A brilliant, yet simple concept. Why? Because we all build walls. You know, those metaphorical walls. I talk about them sometimes. The Wall features some of Pink Floyd's best stuff, though some would argue The Dark Side of the Moon is better, but that is not for us to debate today. There is a movie that is part drawing part real acting based on the story of the wall. Well, not based on, it IS the story, I guess. It just brings to life the music. I would love to watch it stoned one day, Pink Floyd is so psychaedelic and trippy.

"Vera, Vera! What has become of you? Does anybody else in here feel the way I do?" Pink Floyd - Vera

I could quote them forever. Right? Anyone who likes Pink Floyd knows what I mean. They're all-encompassing.

Also, I realize you are not commenting on my comment post to spite me. That's okay. You can comment on posts from last week. Who is anonymous saying I love you? CAUSE I LOVE YOU TOO whoever you are, I hope it's someone I know or else JK, I don't love you.