I was forced today to amend my end of the year list upon hearing four seperate albums by Kayo Dot, Elbow, Midwest Product, and Nina Nastasia. i’m not sure how and/or where these record albums have been hiding from my view all year, but i scared them out of their caves and on to my list – high, mind you – where they belong.
Thusly, my Number One Choice is no longer choiced grudgingly, but embracedly.
--------So all is not lost. I've got some more time to do things that I would like to do now. I'm working more than ever on my music, which is nice. Also I added a show to the live section in February. Should be fun. Brett's going to play drums with me. He's also going to track some loops with me sometime this week. Should be lots of fun, yo.
One odd thing is I'm not up with the current events AT ALL, as I'm not reading any news when I'm at home. So I really have nothing say. I sit at home, and work on music. Then I go out and drink coffee and make music. Then Bethany comes home.
I'm so boring! Be my friendster.
--------Well 94% voted for a psuedonym for a hit. That’s about as decisive as it gets. No date is set yet, but word on the street is March the Second.
I've been listening to a lot of what I call "cabaret rock" which doesn't really mean anything at all. I just sort of like the sound of that term with the sound of what I'm talking about. What I mean by that is the similar thread found in records by Queen, Rufus Wainwright, Kaizers Orchestra, The Robot Ate Me, and Ben Folds. I want more bands to do more of this kind of stuff. I guess we've got the Polyphonic Spree and the Hidden Cameras, but they seem to focus more on their schtick than the music (although i love the Spree).
So are there any musicians in Minneapolis looking for a completely non-steady gig? Guitarist looking for pianist, drummer, contrabassist, cellist, violinist, violist, trumpet player, tromboner, french horn player, percussionist, and a few dozen singer/dancer types (you know, like Gene Kelly). Or something.
Well the good guys (ATU 1005) and the bad guys (the Republican Mafia) met again today, the first day before we can strike. I’m told that each side had their own room and the state mediator physically went back and forth between them. Maybe tomorrow i should just make a sign that says at the top “We are not striking tonight” and at the bottom “I don’t know” and point to it when somebody asks me a question.
--------Inspired by Ben's recent Minnesota-related post, here's my top 5 record albums to ever come out of Minnesota, ranked:
bob dylan - blood on the tracks (1975)
Thanks to iTunes Registry, I have found the following at least slightly interesting.
Now i don't get to listen to other albums for six months. Best album recorded in 3 years. And that's a fact.
Cecile mentioned some bus songs. I thought I’d add a few.
Denali announced yesterday that they have broken up. That's really too bad. I hope Maura and Cam will do something new, especially Maura. She's awesome. The other two dudes don't count, they have Pinebender and Euphone and a dozen solo projects. I'm just glad I saw that last tour. They were amazing.
I'm playing a show tonight at the Kitty Cat Klub. Come on out.
--------Whoa. 35 days without a post! Almost pulled a Textism there. Anyway, got some big news here.
Whoa! Now they want me to start training a week from Monday. I’m gonna do it. I didn’t like the work I ended up picking anyway. My regrets to The Transit Librarian and other drivers with less seniority on account of they could have picked what I got stuck with but instead it went to me and I won’t ever drive it. Anyway… Maybe the part I’m most excited about is that now whenever it’s raining or snowing or just plain cold, instead of riding my moped to work, I’ll be RIDING THE TRAIN TO WORK!!! Whoo hoo! From 46th and Nicollet it takes just about exactly the same time to take the 46 crosstown to the train as it does to take the Nicollet to the Franklin 2. Which is super cool because the former journey is not the shortest route. Yay trains! The shortest route would actually be rocket jet packs, but maybe I shouldn’t mention that because David Strom (aka the Priviliged Wad) may start promoting his new ideology called “The Collapse of the Transit System and Give all the Poor People a Rocket Jet Pack” All the while forcing the rich to drive the cars that they don’t really want to drive in the first place.
You will be missed.
--------Thanks to everybody who showed up last friday to the Kitty Cat Klub. It was good fun.
I passed my rail certification test today. Some things I saw during my 3 week training:
--------We finally get The Onion here!
--------Yay! I love this weather. Makes me wanna drive the 2. Specifically the 005 run Saturdays. Do they still have that one? The one with the 30 minute layover? That was awesome. I went to the record store all the time. I bought my wife the Cocorosie album the last time i did it. Speaking of my wife, we’re married now! It’s been about 4 weeks I guess, we’ve been real busy. It’s been great though. No time to update the ol’ weblog. In any case, I finished my this.
--------Made in Mexico Records is apparantly back? What’s this? Same label that did those Pedro, Damien, and Seldom records? Their website says “New Owners. New Roster. Same Name.”
Some friends of mine have started some sort of winter mix super share or something. Here's my entry. Keep warm!
--------While I finish my list of my favorite 65 record albums of 2004, I've posted a 2xCD mix (tracklist) of my favorite songs of the last 12 months in the 'Lists' section of this site. Discuss.
My official top 2165 recods of the year is posted. There's not really 2,165 on the list, just 65, with the top 21 being better than the other 44. Plus the top 21 are all that stay on the list in the archive. So lets see some discussion? Oh - and to City Pages, The Onion, Pitchfork, etc, sorry, but Ratatat, Franz Ferdinand, The Arcade Fire, Lorretta Lynn, and The Streets did not make good albums. Thank you for listening.
So now that Check out their playlist! And they’ve got the fabulous MPR news programming between songs that is as fair and balanced as it’s possible to get in this country. What a day!
Question: What are my top five currently active Canadian bands? Answer:
Some dudes with taste that leans indie rock (including myself) have combined for a consensus style list of what we consider the best metal albums released in the last 10 years. We’re indie kids, not metal heads, so hopefully there’s a bit of music in the metal.
--------…when Peter Jennings is the second most significant person to die. The world suffered a great loss when Ibrahim Ferrer kicked it (and no, I don't mean he's off drinking beer and playing Halo with his boys).
--------Anybody remember how stoked I was about Danielson joining forces with Deerhoof? Just when you thought things couldn't get better, it's announced that Why? and Danielson will also be working together
--------Last year some friends of mine all decided to make winter mixes and share them with each other. We had so much fun we decided to do it again. Here's the tracklist of my 2005-06 winter mix:
The song that just missed making the winter mix: I know this is old by now, but I can't stop laughing at this song, some new plan to turn kids into neo-cons (at least the ones that get Zell Miller references). The song is so pathetically hilarious that I'm guessing it will work about as well as Creed worked to get people to go to Solomon's Porch (haha anybody remember that?)
List season has officially begun! I'm going to once again start of with a mix featuring the best songs of the year. There's even a zip file so you can download it and spend two hours (yeah, it's a two disc mix) listening to the best songs of 2005. I'll be posting my best 2165 albums of 2005 a little early this year, probably in the next week or so. I don't want to put it off too long so I don't have the time to post it until after my kid goes to Harvard. So here we are. The best songs of 2005, in a handy online guide:
So every year I make a top 2165 list, where the top 21 are the best albums of the year, and the other 44 are sort of honorable mentions. 2005 was another great year for good albums, but mediocre for great albums. But there was more than enough worth listening to.
Previously: Year end lists from 1996-2004
My list of the CP Blotter link, and I'm hoping the server can handle it.
--------I because curious of what good music came out this year from Minnesota, so I went through what I heard. It wasn't a good year for Minnesota. It's telling that only two of this list made my Top 65 List, compared with four just in the top 21 from Washington (California and Illinois also had good showings). But here are 10 Minnesota albums that don't suck (New York albums with a part time Minnesotan drummer count):
I because curious of what good music came out this year from Minnesota, so I went through what I heard. It wasn't a good year for Minnesota. It's telling that only two of this list made my Top 65 List, compared with four just in the top 21 from Washington (California and Illinois also had good showings). But here are 10 Minnesota albums that don't suck (New York albums with a part time Minnesotan drummer count):
--------So making the local year-end list sort of depressed me a little bit. There were only two good albums released locally in my opinion, and one of them is a band from Duluth. I was thinking about the not-too-distant past when we had classic albums by Lifter Puller, A Whisper in the Noise, 12Rods, Tiki Obmar, Mr Projectile, Kid Dakota, and The Plastic Constellations, just to name a few. Sure some of those have broken up or moved to another city, but the magic isn't gone, it just didn't happen as much this year. Brother Ali has an album in the works. Next year's TPC pwns for the most part. Cepia still hasn't made an full-length. Ryan Olcott has a something going on; I've heard him play a couple tracks and it's ridiculously good. So in spite of the dubious honor of being the home of Fitzgerald and Har Mar, it's still not a bad town for music, even if Tapes n Tapes and Heiruspecs are supposed to be the hot acts (that's just a little embarassing).
On to the geekery! I have made a very scientific list of what the best areas for music for 2005, based on my top 80. I have the areas split in to arbitrary political borders. My formula is basically population per album, weighted for how good the albums are, and set to a curve with the top location getting a score of 1. I limited the list to locations with more than one album on the list. Sorry, Boston! So it turns out Minnesota's not that bad when you factor in population.
Countries
I thought I'd jot some quick notes about some albums coming out in the near future.
Kayo Dot's new record Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue is incredible. There's less metal but also less meandering than their previous album [4.6/5]. Angel Eyes is a new metal band out of Chicago. I'm more than impressed with their album Something To Do With Death. They've got the stoner melodic style of Pelican, but they bring in the droney low end of Sunn o))), with some fierce vocals [4.5/5]. The Plastic Constellations managed to make an album with no terrible tracks for the first time in five years. French Kiss is a good match for them [4.1/5]. Band of Horses has the same singer as Carissa's Wierd. They sound a bit like the Arcade Fire if the Arcade Fire had a single decent songwriter among em. The vocals also have a bit of a Jim James feel, especially with the reverb, giving the slower tracks a My Morning Jacket quality [4.0/5]. Man Man's Six Demon Bag is not the great album that they'll make at some point. There are some pretty great moments, but it's too disjointed to really mean anything in the long run [3.8/5]. The new Cat Power is called The Greatest. Get your "not the greatest" puns ready. One tremendous title track followed by decent songs that are nowhere near what Chan has done even in the recent past [3.8/5]. POS's Audition is the interesting mixture of a mediocre rapper, poor production, and quality lyrics. It's never terrible, but it's never great, it just kind of alternates between mediocre tracks and decent ones. I'd like some of these local rappers to notice that you can't just have a 2-bar loop repeated through an entire track [3.3/5]. Islands, Return to the Sea - remember how terrible the Unicorns were? They made a new band, wrote 3 decent songs, stuck them at the beginning of an album, and filled up the rest with Unicorn leftovers [2.8/5]. Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Furcoat. There's something about Rilo Kiley that is decent, and there's an element that is dreadful. Now I know what part Jenny Lewis played [2.5/5].
I just wanted to write about some music I've heard lately. I don't know if I'll keep doing this. I know people have me linked as a podcast and I've been getting ton of traffic from people looking for music stuff lately. I don't know what I can keep up. I haven't really done much more commenting than lists. I probably won't make many friends if I do keep it up. Or maybe bands should just suck less.
BookSense for what your local indie stores stock.
Local Top 10 CATEGORY: My Top 65 Albums of 2005
--------So apparently because I mentioned local band Tapes 'n Tapes a few weeks ago and Google picked it up, some of their fans have been wading through eight pages of Google results to find out who's mentioning the band. I'm getting several of these hits every day, which is sort of ridiculous. Some of these Tapes 'n Tapes apologists have even been declaring the band the greatest thing ever and mocked me for even thinking negative thoughts about them. That's some straight up Death Cab sty fanboyism. I feel sorry for the band though; they seem like the light-hearted sort that start bands just to have fun. And sure, looking back, I guess I do sound like I'm some sort of anti-tapesntapes zealot, but that's not even close to what's going on. I don't hate em, they're just not that great. They're not Cowboy Curtis bad. They're not Matt Marka bad. They're not at all Fiery Furnaces bad. They're just a slightly better-than-your-average-bear stroll down PFM lane. There's much worse things a band could do. Especially if they don't even take themselves seriously.
So here's some albums I've heard recently that I care to mention. I haven't heard anything too new in a few weeks. 
Oh wow, this looks cool. Mi & L'au are playing St Paul (Turf Club) and Minneapolis (Rock Rock Rock) on two consecutive nights. I can't think of the last time a semi-obscure (by which I mean unfairly overshadowed by Young God labelmates Devendra and Akron/Family in the indie rock press) pulled that off. My first thought was that it's too bad I can't go (I'm not taking a 3 week old baby to the smoky Turf or the very loud Rock Rock Rock), but maybe my wife and I can alternate nights? It's a thought. Who wants to take us out?
The bad news is Josephine Foster and Born Heller (is Foster doing solo and band sets? Hot.) won't be joining them until two days after the Minneapolis Show.
I haven't had much of a chance to listen to much music lately, but the TToTM mix should be on time, as it was 90% finished in the first 10 days of January.
I saw this posted at the UnCapitalist Journal. I like old hymns, and I like Wobblies, and I know that Bush, Dobson, and just about everybody else running the American exploitation machine are acting like no kinds of Christian lately, so I thought I'd post it. If you grew up in a church, you know the melody.
I've been making monthly mixes this year, this is the first one I've put on my site. They're full of music I've been enjoying over the past month, and I make them as a way to spread the word about musicians that actually deserve to have people know their names. If you usually receive one in the mail, you'll still get one.
It's a torrent file, so you'll need something like the Azureus. Just download the .torrent file and open it in Azureus. If you'd like to help out, please keep your window open for a while after the download finishes. Thanks.
Today a guy on my bus yelled "Hey bus driver! She's got some booty, eh? F'shizzle!"
I like driving the 6 line. I don't mind working nights, i don't mind working weekends, i just don't like working weekend nights ['course on the other hand, i refuse to wake up before 10 on weekends, so mornings are out too.] The main problem are the idiot 952's that hang out downtown and jaywalk en masse all night long. I mean, I don't drive the bus on the friggin sidewalk, do I? I guess if you really boil it down, the problem is that a long ass time ago some idiotic city planner thought it would be great if we had blocks that are 3 miles long, and was followed by 150 years of local goverments that have never heard of crosswalks. Anyway, it sometimes makes for some interesting trips.
Tonight, I stopped at 8th and Hennepin and picked up a bachelorette party of about 30 women somewhere betwen the ages of 25 and 35. One of them put $3 in the bill slot and said "This is for me and my bitch." The woman standing next to her leaned in and said "I'm her bitch." They spent most of their trip to Uptown Station singing songs about how the bride-to-be "likes it better from the back." An elderly woman boarded at 10th, paid her fare. She took one look at the party, and looked at me and said "Maybe I'll just wait for the 4," and alighted.
One of the ladies in the party topped all, however. She showed me $3 and asked me "What do I do with this?" I patted the bill slot and told her to "just slide it on in there." In no kind of indoor voice, "Like a penis?" and held up a penis figurine.
Seawhores is the Minneapolis band that actually deserves the hype they get. Also, that new hotel on 9th & Hennepin is looking very cool. The new condos are a nice touch for the city; I do, however, think we need more row houses.
I almost forgot. There's a new Azureus. Just download the .torrent file and open it in your program. If you'd like to help out, please keep your window open for a while after the download finishes. Thanks.
That Time of the Month, Vol. 13
I've got a new Azureus. Just download the .torrent file and open it in your program. If you'd like to help out, please keep your window open for a while after the download finishes. Thanks.
It's been a great weekend. I had friday off work, which turned out to be a great day to take off. I would have been driving the 4 on Lyndale and through downtown on Hennepin, and, from what I saw when we went down to the Wedge to get Eliot some wipes while we wait for our Twin Cities Blend Peace Coffee [Peace Coffee absolutely murders Stumptown, while I'm at it. Other recent coffee deaths inflicted by Peace coffee include Intellegentsia of Chicago, and everything I had in Seattle.] But hear me out, I'm a huge fan of eggs+beans+salsa wrapped up in various combinations. Earwax (Chicago) previously held the title for Greatest Breakfast Burrito, and the Uptown Diner held the local version, but Anodyne has taken over. Insane.
But wait, there's more! The Twins are on a roll. Remember five days ago when people were freaking out about the Twins' 1-5 start? A slow start to a season on the road has never been reason for worry. We just swept the A's. Our supposedly terrible offense wiped oakland pitching all over the FieldTurf. Scott Baker put the supposedly incredible [offensively] Yankees in his back pocket and sat on a very… hard… something. Now we're suddenly one game behind the two hottest offenses in the American League, and tied with the defending World Series champs [soon to be once-World Series champs]. I'll admit I don't like the additions. But they'll help more than it looks like they will. Castillo batting second is better than whoever the heck we had there last year. Batista makes the seventh spot in the order upgrade from a hack to 25 homer potential. And at some point Gardy's going to realize that Morneau should be batting fourth or fifth and Rondell should be putting up his 25 homers in the six hole. Morneau is going to be sweet this year. It would be nice if he would have somebody on base when he's up. Liriano is smoking jerks. Baker's pitching like Greg Maddux. Lohse is in the way.
Anybody else notice that two of Tapes 'n Tapes to Tour, Get Hyped 'n Hyped I like the band just fine, but the hype is ridiculous.
That Time of the Month, Vol. 14
April showers bring a new Azureus. Just download the .torrent file and open it in your program. If you'd like to help out, please keep your window open for a while after the download finishes. Thanks. [note: Transmission has been banned by many trackers, which is the main reason I can't recommend it right now]
Nice day today. There was a girl wearing cowboy boots singing and playing guitar in Uptown today, accompanied by a stoned-looking guy on the star-shaped tambourine. I didn't get a great listen because I was busy driving by, but she reminded me of Brainwashed, and I didn't even see anything for the summer that looks even remotely promising. Let's hope there are some great new artists in there somewhere. I know what's not good. Boneclouds by Mason Jennings. Honestly, what a strange journey his music has taken -- from an exciting debut mini-full-length, to a sloppy mess with mixed results and a sloppy pop album with mixed results, then to a fantastic collection of old songs and a very good album that sounds like the old songs, and finally to nonstop ridiculousness. It's a terrible record, which isn't to say there aren't a couple of decent songs, but they'd be among the worst couple songs on any of his other records.
I've been using the name Your Friend, Kid Tiger for my music since 2001. I don't know what the deal is, but terrible bands just love stealing my name.
I realize I haven't posted in a while. I was on the sick list so I haven't had much to say. I made the new Azureus. Just download the .torrent file and open it in your program. If you'd like to help out, please keep your window open for a while after the download finishes. Thanks. [note: Transmission has been banned by many trackers, which is the main reason I can't recommend it right now]
--------We're going to start off List Week with something of a teaser. I can't say that I've heard a definitive amount of local albums [Side note: for the unaware, we're talking Minneapolis, St. Paul, and sometimes Duluth, but the Hold Steady are disqualified for one, not being Lifter Puller, and two, not actually being located here. Does this album make Sufjan Stevens an Illinois native?] but I've heard enough to make a short list of recommendations. Let's say, well, we'll do six, for the route I drive most frequently.
As always, dissenting comments are cherished here.
It's April, and that can only mean one thing (other than more snow, opening day, and my birthday): the twenty second mix. No, the mix is actually about an hour long, but I guess if the mixes were states, we'd be up to Alabama. Next up, Maine (and not just for Mets fans).
Download link [ ? ]
I realize I'm a little bit late and that there are only 11 tracks this time, but it ain't like that, man. Well, I am late, but there are a lot of long songs this time around. We've got some jazz, a lot of instrumental tracks, and a couple of folk songs. It's still over an hour. And good stuff.
Download link [ ? ]
Previously: #22, April
We've got the last mix of the year ready. Bethany says it's one of the best mixes we've done. It features Yoni Wolf twice, the Avett Brothers doing their best Paul Simon, Britt Daniel doing a cover, David Bazan doing half a cover and then making up some of his own lyrics, and the newest contestant for Album of the Year. The next mix will be the songs of the year double and should be available during List Week at the end of the month.
If you're new to bit torrent or have any questions, don't hesitate to email me at ryan at cedarave dot com suckas.
Download link [ ? ]
Previously: Mix #26, September, October
While 2007 might not have been the best year for albums in the history of the world (more on that later this week), it was a very strong year for single tracks. Here are some of the songs I liked the most. There were some very difficult decisions, especially between multiple songs by the same artist, but I think it's a solid mix.
Nine of these tracks are from albums that aren't going to be on the year-end list later this week, either because they're on otherwise mediocre albums or are a part of an EP or single.
High (Disc One)Download link [ ? ]
Previously: 2006's best tracks
Frog Eyes has been a lock at #3 for a while. The trouble I had was in deciding between Himalayan Bear and Bowerbirds. Bowerbirds's Phil Moore has one of those voices that, like Phil Elverum and David Bazan, inexplicably captures me. The music is closer to good literature than is most pop music, with all of the foreshadowing and the well-placed (musical) plot devices, but also with the occasional misstep. Whereas Moore's other band Ticonderoga plays a Chicago-style post rock style, Bowerbirds is more like an Appalachan interpretation of Sufjan Stevens's multi-instrument Brooklyn folk, except with musical integrity. The accordian is tasteful, and the percussion is a well-executed exercise in brainy minimalism.
Himalayan Bear, on the other hand, is steadily brilliant from start to finish. It's the most original new folk since Joanna Newsom, even if the two are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Himalayan bear sounds like a hot rainy weekend in Hawaii spent inside with close friends. It's very laid-back with Hawaiian instruments, but also has a classic country tinge. The music is informed by Frog Eyes, but not derivative of any single band. The vocals are in the same vein, but they're a touch closer to Tom Brosseau and Jeff Buckley. While the Bowerbirds record has some of the better overall songs, I felt that Himalayan bear was more consistent from start to finish. Both are brilliant albums, however, and both deserve a place in your library. You may ignore #30-#65 if you like, but this is the best stuff of 2007.
Interesting Fact: Two of the top three albums were made by bands from Victoria, Canada. There is yet another in the top 30.
1 Album was unfortunately released as part of the Sojourner box set, but hey, it was a weak year
Previously: Best Albums of 2006, 1994-2005
That would be #27 on the list below getting married to the president of France. Why can't our evil conservative presidents be as cool as that?
February's mix is a combination of leftover tracks from '07 that never really found a place and new tracks from some of the first good albums of the new year. The music doesn't really start flowing after November until the spring, but we're doing OK. I know what you're thinking. "How many mixes is he going to start off with Why??" Answer: all of them. At least until David Bazan puts out a new album or Karate knocks it off with this Glorytellers business and gets back together. But seriously, if you're not devouring everything Why? puts out, you're as DTM as Javon Walker and Roy Halladay. Enjoy.
Download link [ ? ]
Previously: Mix #27, Dec '07
I like that new stadium in Tampa Bay a lot. Somebody managed to design a stadium that doesn't copy the classic style and also doesn't look like a suburban office park.
Here are some good songs. You should support some of these artists.
Download link [ ? ]
Previously: Mix #28, Feb '08
That Twins sweep of the Tigers this weekend was awesome. Carlos Gomez is amazing getting hits, but like the rest of the team, seems incapable of taking a walk. It seems there might be a place in Minnesota for OBP guys like Wilkerson or MN native Dan Johnson. It's really just been a bunch of luck, but I have to admit, I'm liking Blackburn more and more. He's starting to remind me of a Jeff Suppan / Brad Radke type, that is, very useful. If he can harness the BABIP like Bannister and keep his walks down, he could give us a year like that bizarrely dominant Carlos Silva year.
I know this is pretty similar to what that great local beacon of mediocrity has been playing this month, but it's the best I've heard. This is almost a third local. We're having fish tacos tomorrow. I didn't even realize it was Cinco de Mayo until just a few minutes ago.
Download link [ ? ]
Previously: