Flying Colors - Third Degree (2018-2019)

I really hope this album has a lot of HOOKS and poppy choruses, but we'll see.

The hope for a Jellyfish/Kevin Gilbert-like band/album I guess still happens.

It would be nice to see them on tour, but as that reads, limited dates, so unlikely for me.

Facebook

Yes....Your eyes are not deceiving you...FLYING COLORS 2019 TOUR DATES!!! 

The good news: Flying Colors’ long awaited 3rd Studio Album “Third Degree” is being finished as we speak and currently set for a September release (a lot more info on that coming very soon!) 

The bad news: Steve will be on tour with Deep Purple upon the album’s release...

But wait...there’s more good news: our fearless guitarist has offered himself on DP’s days off to be able to swing some FC shows in select cities throughout their US Tour!!! (Hurray Steve!! Thank you)

And guess what?? There’s even MORE good news: We are going to be able to swing 4 shows in Europe in December as well!! (We will likely be announcing those next week)

Meaningful Songs: Agalloch - Sowilo Rune

I'm  not a huge Agalloch fan, although I enjoy their style of progressive folky post/black metal.

And The White EP was really the thing that got me most, even though it has very little to no metal on it.

This piece is so bloody sad sounding, and I have always had this weird feeling about it, The White EP and Friday afternoons.

So Melancholy and beautiful.

Also The Wickerman samples and Christopher Lee add a lot to the mood/vibe/atmosphere of it.

The Whole EP I love, but this is by far the piece that I take the most from.

OT: Dead to Me (Netflix Dramedy)

I just binged all 10 episodes from Season 1 which came out on May 3rd on Netflix.

And the length in them average around 30 minutes, so it went pretty quick and easy.

So it's a show with Sitcom-length episodes, but is it a Sitcom? not really. It's a Dramedy done in shorter segments than a lot of Dramedies.

It really does get quite dark, which is why the comparison to Breaking Bad and/or Now and Again I think fits to a degree.

Christina Applegate almost overacts or just is highly vehemently full of rage at times, so much so I wonder if it has a 2nd season, her character Jennifer may either have an intervention or go to Anger Management.

But I agree with many comments about maybe the strength of this show is the chemistry/connection between her and Linda Cardellini's character Judy.

Liz Feldman is the creator and she was also behind among others, Two Broke Girls which I can see. Feldman has a knack for writing cynical female comedic characters. Although Applegate I have felt ever since the end of Married With Children has a very similar style of witty sarcasm that both Lauren Graham and Jenna Elfman have. And if it were to go to a 2nd season, it would be cool to see either of those 2 guest star.

But the humor and pop-culture references along with some of the secondary characters and elements (the music. Applegate's character even gets therapy from what sounds like Metalcore in her car, lol),

The music like The Cars "Drive" and "You (Sacred) Thing" from Hot Chocolate (used in a Church) are among the fun/funny use of music.

How Season 1 ended? I get why they had a cliffhanger with a character finding an unfortunate fate, but the main story premise/arc happens towards the end of the 9th episode.

I mean I guess there are a lot more they can do with the investigation of Jennifer's husband Ted's death. I suspect it may come to happen that he either was forced onto the road or it was a suicide, because if you went running or walking, especially in the middle of the night, you would still not walk in the middle of the road.

Coming from someone who actually experienced that very thing as a driver many years ago, late 1 night. The person I hit, was a walked-out and unsupervised mental patient who had no idea it would be a problem to just walk with his back to traffic in the middle of the road.

Also Jennifer's oldest son dealing the drugs? there could easily be more to explain why or even how did that. Other than to lash out at her.

And the dude whose car Jennifer wacked with a golf club. That dude needs to get justice. We need to meet him too.

And the woman "Bambi" who Ted had an affair with. I would go for them bringing her back and allow Jennifer to give her a piece of her mind.

And Ed Asner's character I wish had been more used as he provided a lot of good comic-relief.

Also the black dude in the Grief Group I kind of liked, but he was not used all that much the 2nd half of the season. They ought to go back to another 1 of those RandR retreat weekends and bring him in.

It's stuff like this that a 2nd season could explore, but if the primary premise is going to go in other places. Feldman in 1 interview said if there is a 2nd season, we may see kind of a role-reversal between Jennifer and Judy, largely due to what happens at the very end of the last episode.

Video: Ours, Arch/Matheos, Cale Parks

Video showing the physical items. Unsure how many more videos I'll make before I move, although with a lot of PTO coming soon, I may make more. But this may be 1 of the final videos showing new vinyl in the storage space.

I forgot the title of the Courtney Swain album Between Blood and Ocean.

I should try and make a video about DS9 and the doc soon if/when I find the time. Maybe on 1 of those PTO days if not sooner.



Ours - New Age Heroine II (Vinyl+CD) Arch / Matheos - Wintere Ethereal (Vinyl+CD) Cale Parks - To Swift Mars [EP] (CD) Courtney Swain - Between Blood and Ocean
Dead to Me: New Netflix show

Courtney Swain - Between Blood and Ocean (2018-2019)

This was  Released on May 1st, I only got to hear this yesterday for the 1st time.

As a Bent Knee fan, I am enjoying a lot of this a lot.

I'd Kill, Snowflakes, Don't Look At Me, Silver Needle of Pine, Sand Angels are all already highlights.

Snowflakes kind of reminds me of something Kimbra would do.

White Trees is the oddest track with what sounds like a lot of auto-tune, maybe more Kanye West than Imogen Heap but I don't hate it.

Definitely something to tide us Bent Knee fans over until their next record which has kind of come out of nowhere and won me over this week.

OT: What We Left Behind Star Trek Deep Space 9 Documentary

Deep Space 9, what I have considered my favorite television show of all-time.

This Documentary was in the works from Showrunner Ira Steven Behr for many years.

I caught it a couple of weeks ago for a special 1-night Cinema screening, and meant to write up a review soon after, but haven't found the time until now.

On the Documentary itself:

Pretty thorough and long (2.5 hours I recall).

A lot of interviews including all the leading Cast. Avery Brooks who plays Sisko was in there, and there was some time talking about him, however for my money given he is the Lead character in the show, I would have liked more. And I plan to pickup the DVD which I'm sure has a lot of extra footage and interviews, with him included.

Not much with Max Grodénchik and some of the other regular guest stars on the show. Although there was a lot with Andrew Robinson who played Garak at least. But people like Salome Jens, Rosalind Chao, Louise Fletcher, Ken Marshall (Eddington), and even say Mark Allen Shepherd (Morn).

But the reunion(s) and meeting with the Writers (aka Writers Room) was fun. Ronald D. Moore, Robert Hewitt Wolfe and some others including Ira Steven Behr, creating on-the-fly for like 1 or 2 days, a hypothetical 8th Season. And they adapted the premise/ideas to STORYBOARDS, was pretty cool.

And seeing the High Definition footage and on the Big Screen added a lot. The clarity and detail does make a lot of difference, so much so, i am with many fans in that to see the whole show remastered and released in this would be something I would pay for.

Now the explanation, especially Post-Credits, explained how much of a chore it was to EDIT so many specific clips to make montages from those original tapes. And I highly applaud those who did all that work (countless hours I imagine). Also those who contributed to the Crowd Sourced campaign for all those extra details and work I applaud.

So, this did mean a lot to me because Star Trek Deep Space 9 means so much to me. Why?

Here's the story (however long or short this might get).

I grew up as a Sports Nerd, but a Nerd none-the-less in a lot of ways. And I always liked Star Wars. But Star Trek? I watched The Original Series, from memory, when I was at my Grandma's and I recall not liking it all that much. The Spock character I remember being scared of, or at least not liking. I thought he was bad or evil and he was stronger than everyone, which I suppose he was.

And I remember when The Next Generation came out, but I rarely watched it. I got the impression TNG was for dorks, and I didn't see myself as a "Trekkie."

So after High School I ended up being even more of a Night Owl than I was in HS, staying up late listening to Sports Radio, playing Sega and for a brief period, Playstation games (like 95% Sports games at that point).

But in being a Night Owl and renting movies and watching some late night TV and/or what I had taped while I was gone during the evening per I worked 2nd Shift hours for awhile there.

What became the local UPN and now FOX affiliate carried both new episodes of DS9 and the previous season episodes, LATE-AT-NIGHT, including on Saturdays 3-hours/episodes. So I stumbled upon it 1 night I recall March or maybe February of 1997. I forget, it might have been earlier than that. But I remember the Spring of 1997 I was totally won over by DS9.

Why? I think a lot of it had to do with how IT WASN'T LIKE STAR TREK. It explored more normal, everyday human(oid) issues. It felt in some ways like seeing human life 350+ or whatever years in the future.

Also I was definitely going through an uneasy time with life. I had stopped going to college and had a job that was supposed to last for many months, that did from September/October 1996, but one day in early April I recall they called me off that job. I was a contract or temp, but it was supposed to be for maybe a year or more and they might hire me on. But for reasons I can best explain as a struggle I had and honestly still have and likely always will have, caught up with me I think.

So, DS9 was like therapy or an escape. It really gave me something to latch onto and not be sad about my current life situation.

And the characters were really well written. Very down-to-earth in a lot of ways. I suppose 2 characters most, the Jadxia Dax character. For one, Terry Farrell was and still is extremely beautiful. But I also found her portrayal of Dax both nerdy/geeky but also warm, kind, and welcoming. She just came across often as someone you loved her presence and felt like seeing and hearing her talk, you felt good. Often better than before that happened.

The other one I find is Odo. Partially given the Changeling species was really cool. The ability to change form was in some ways the kind of Scifi stuff I found fascinating. That and his character, with being an outsider and kind of having his own agenda I really related to in a lot of ways. And like Terry Farrell, I found in many episodes as the series went on, Rene's portrayal was very sympathetic. I at times almost felt more for his position than the Federation's.

So, there's a ton more I could get into about this show and the characters and why it became my favorite television show of all-time, but that may have to be saved for another entry.

"The Visitor" episode though I should include as that 1 episode may have been the biggest 1 to bring me in. I was in tears after seeing it. "The Jake Episode"..both Cirroc Lofton and Tony Todd were so good in that episode. It's so heartbreaking, yet it still ends on a happy note in a lot of ways.

Also the fact being a DS9 fan got me into Star Trek as-a-whole. I enjoy TOS a lot more now and TNG. I like Voyager and even Enterprise, especially since seeing the reruns on H and I.
And also Scifi (television) in general.

Discovery?..nope, but I totally dig The Orville which basically is Star Trek, unlike Discovery which is totally not Star Trek.

So, I may or may not do more on DS9 soon. or even consider start writing about some of my other favorite TV shows. I put DS9 on top, but I kind of place a few others near it; Cheers, Beavis, Psych, Gilmore Girls and some others.

When I enjoy TV, I almost love it as much if  not more than Music. Like movies as well, which is why I would like to start writing about entertainment outside of music (Sports? the Minnesota Twins for example are 36-16 and playing out-of-their-minds right now) in the near future, especially given I finally found 1 million hits.

I suppose at the point I pickup the DVD maybe I'll do another entry on this and maybe DS9 (I could probably do a handful more, including something more about the Babylon 5 comparison thing which was not really brought up, but maybe it will be in the DVD?)

Why they aren't my favorite band: RUSH

The question is raise-able.

I was addicted/attached to Rush when I was in High School and at least a year or maybe 2 years after it.

I suppose it really came to when I started listening to some of those bands in 1995 and 1996 that became favorites: Dream Theater, Marillion, King's X, Fates Warning.

Maybe the end came both when I saw the 1996 tour supporting Test for Echo and then the following unfortunate events that happened to Neil Pear which caused them to go on a hiatus around 1998.

The truth is, among every band/artist I enjoy, they have the highest percentage of quality albums compared to all others, considering quantity.

They have 19 studio albums, the 1st 15 I rate 3.5-stars or better (and among those, most of them are 4-5 stars). And their last 4, I still consider good records 3-3.5 stars.

So that's an amazing run of consistency, that really hasn't come close to being matched for me. There are some others who if they have a long enough career, could match or surpass it (The Dear Hunter comes to mind).

So WHY aren't they my favorite band? I guess it comes down to a couple of factors.

1) Some may see this as no reason to consider, but they are and have become even more popular/mainstream etc over the last decade especially. When I 1st became a fan, while they still were popular, I didn't know many others who loved them like me. In other words, THEY FELT LIKE MY BAND. In the time I took them off my favorite band place, it seems more and more casual/fringe fans arose. Even the hipsters grabbed onto them, which not to the fault of them or their music, made it feel less special for them to be my favorite.

2) I was so into them, listened to them so much for 3+ years especially, I kind of burnt out on them to an extent back then. I needed a break and to listen to other music at that point. Other music I needed to discover. After that happened, I kind of felt I didn't need to see them as the greatest band of all-time anymore.

I suppose the fact I have always thought of them as a favorite ever since that time frame after I took them off the top of the mountain, speaks to my all-time love of Rush. And the fact their catalog at this point is more or less unmatched, and may always be in terms of depth + quality.

But will they ever be #1 for me again? I doubt it per it is kind of past the point of no return. I think the underground factor being gone and the fact I discovered other bands who have maintained that special-ness to me, that Rush didn't quite do, hurts that. But, I dunno, it may just come down to mentality.

I seem to be someone whose gone more and more away from having favorite bands and just finding great albums and bands who I never expect to be an all-time favorite, but favorite every year, etc.

I.e. The Music Listening Buffet mentality.

And I hate trying to compete with being the biggest fan/collector with others because there often will always be dozens if not hundreds of other bigger/more attached/dedicated fans than I am.

iamthemorning - The Bell (2018-2019)

New album from iamthemorning The Bell is being released on August 2nd.

I enjoyed Lighthouse from 2016, and it won a lot of "Prog" awards or awards/recognition from many end-of-year lists.

And I ordered the Vinyl.

The truth is though, I only listened to it a handful of times, and now with the time passing, I still lean towards the previous record Belighted over it.

I guess we'll see, I never got around to hearing the recorded-live (outdoors with no audience, ala Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii) album Ocean Sounds from 2018, but it included "Blue Sea" which is shown below.

PREORDERS Link

The Bell - iamthemorning’s 2019 studio album - delivers a contemporary fusion of Rock, Classical and Folk influences.

Inspired by 19th Century song cycles - a style established by Schubert - the album cohesively tells 10 individual stories of pain caused by human cruelty. The lyrical imagery draws on themes from Victorian England's art and culture, with its prevalent fixation with death.

The artwork, created by Constantine Nagishkin, portrays the once popular 'coffin bell' used as an alert system to indicate that a person had been mistakenly buried alive (a terrible phobia commonly held by Victorians). 

The engineering and mastering was handled by Vlad Avy, and recorded in March 2019 across Russia, the UK and Canada in several studios: Mosfilm in Moscow; Lendoc and Red Wave in St Petersburg; Noatune in London; The Studio at Sunbeams, Penrith; and Union Sound Company in Toronto.




1. Freak Show [7:09]
2. Sleeping Beauty [3:42]
3. Blue Sea [3:08]
4. Black And Blue [3:58]
5. Six Feet [3:56]
6. Ghost Of A Story [3:58]
7. Song Of Psyche [3:20]
8. Lillies [4:28]
9. Salute [7:27]
10. The Bell [5:04]

React To The Current's (21st Century) 893 Songs PART 1?

Okay change of plans per these extensively long lists of songs is taking far too long for me to make, I could be working on it for months, lol.

And now I know why

1) I often refuse to make long lists of SONGS

2) why last year when they did an 893 songs list, I never finished it.

So I tallied their 893 songs list and counted the  artists/bands with multiple songs.

175 artists had at least 2 songs, lol.

And as it is seen below, I just randomly chose artists I enjoy with songs from the 2000/2010's and replaced their names and then a song list of the number of songs 89.3's list had.

I've done 25 of them, lol. Which leaves another 150 left.

And I made a list of over 500 artists/bands who I enjoy songs from the 2000's/2010's, but I would estimate at least 20% or more were artists I could not name any tunes from without looking them up.

And the truth is, I probably have to look up more than half of the song titles, which is fine, but just  A LOT OF TIME AND WORK.

So in the interest of time, I'm just going to post the lists I have so far, and hopefully will either UPDATE/BUMP/EDIT this list, or maybe make a Part 2-3, etc

I have been bogged down with the Closing and planning of the Town House I bought, and Loan stress of late, I haven't had enough time, and may not fully find the time to do this whole thing soon. Although with Memorial Day Weekend and Rainy Weather, maybe I will find some time. But I can't assume anything.

But 1 or 2 other points:
these lists are not fully ranked, nor definitive. Even the Number of songs is somewhat random/arbitrary.  And by some chance I make an End of Decade or 21st Century list sometime late this year/in 2020, it may be similar, but still not exactly like this. Although admittedly, these lists could help save/be-doing-some-of-the-work I would have to do for the end of the decade soon anyway.

Also below my lists, is the 150 artist and number of songs they had (2 or more).
In Part 2 or an EDIT, I may include the artists with 1, or more likely, just select the number of other artists who I include only 1 song from.

My 10 Songs Submission:
Fates Warning - Still Remains
Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element
Transatlantic - Stranger in Your Soul
Marillion - The Invisible Man
Oceansize - The Ornament/The Last Wrongs
dredg - The Canyon  Behind Her
Kevin Gilbert - Water Under the Bridge
Kaddisfly - Via Rail
Ours - The Worst Things Beautiful

Replacing Artists with multiple songs:

7. Arcade Fire  The Dear Hunter (15)
1. His Hands Matched His Tongue
2. Mandala
3. Red Hands
4. Dear Ms. Leading
5. Mustard Gas
6. The Moon / Awake
7. This old Haunt
8. Light
9. Whisper
10. Old Demon
11. Smiling Swine
12. What It Means to Be Alone
13. King of Swords (Reversed)
14. 1878
15. A Night on the Town
14. Beck Fates Warning (11)
1. Still Remains
2. The Light and Shade of Things
3. Something from Nothing
4. Another Perfect Day
5. Ghosts of Home
6. A Handful of Doubt
7. So Tired
8. From the Rooftops
9. Left Here
10. River Wide Ocean Deep
11. Pieces of Me
18. Beyonce Apes and Androids (5)
1. Riverside
2. Johnny and Sarah
3. Hot Kathy
4. Golden Prize
5. We Don't Understand You
20. Bon Iver  Three (8)
1. Amazedisgrace
2. Serpent in Disguise
3. React
4. Only Child
5. My Divided Falling
6. Trust
7. These Iron Bones
8. Sparrow
41. Death Cab for Cutie Coheed and Cambria (6)
1. The Willing Well
2. Welcome Home
3. Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)
4. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
5. Mother May I
6. The Dark Sentencer
44. DeVotchKa  Timbre (3)
1. Nightgirl: Nycteris Sees the Sun
2. I Will Go Plant Little Flowers
3. Song of the Sun
48. Father John Misty Kaddisfly (7)
1. Via Rail
2. Forest
3. Horses Galloping on Sailboats
4. Silk Road
5. The Painter
6. Empire
7. The Middleman
53. Florence + the Machine  Pain of Salvation (8)
1. The Perfect Element
2. Beyond the Pale
3. In the Flesh
4. Iter Impius
5. A Trace of Blood
6. Reconciliation
7. King of Loss
8. Flame to the Moth
54. Foo Fighters Mutemath (6)
1. Cavalries
2. Control
3. Marching to the End
4. Typical
5. Chaos
6. Peculiar People
56. Frightened Rabbit  The Ebb and Flow (2)
1. Independence Day
2. Patriots of Absurdity
58. Gorillaz Ours (8)
1. The Worst Things Beautiful
2. Sometimes
3. Fly
4. Fallen Souls
5. Meet Me in the Tower
6. If Flowers Turn
7. Murder
8. I'm a Monster
81. Kendrick Lamar Oceansize (7)
1. The Ornament/The Last Wrongs
2. The Frame
3. Heaven Alive
4. Unfamiliar
5. Long Forgotten
6. The Charm Offensive
7. Silent/Transparent
85. LCD Soundsystem Kevin Gilbert (11)
1. Water Under the Bridge
2. A Tired Old Man
3. Imagemaker
4. Staring Into Nothing
5. Sultan of Brunei
6. City of the Sun
7. The Best of Everything
8. Finally Over You
9. Until I Get Her Back
10. Long Day's Life
11. When Stranger's Part
86. Leon Bridges Opeth (5)
1. The Grand Conjuration
2. Deliverance
3. The Lotus Eater
4. The Leper Affinity
5. Blackwater Park
104. Mumford and Sons 22 (4)
1. Gotodo
2. You Are Creating
3. Kneel Estate
4. Call Me Trimtab
108. Neko Case Anathema (7)
1. Untouchable
2. Angels Walk Among Us
3. Universal
4. Endless Ways
5. Ariel
6. Distant Satellites
7. Thin Air
121. Radiohead Marillion (16)
1. The Invisible Man
2. Ocean Cloud
3. Genie
4. Quartz
5. The Leavers
6. Half Empty Jam
7. Montreal
8. Drilling Holes
9. If My Heart Were a Ball it would Roll Uphill
10. Neverland
11. Power
12. Somewhere Else
13. Don't Hurt Yourself
14. This is the 21st Century
15. The New Kings
16. The Man from Planet Marzipan
136. Spoon Bend Sinister (11) 
1. Time Breaks Down
2. Demise
3. Truth or Truth
4. Quest for Love
5. Hell or Shelter
6. Best of You
7. The Same Things
8. TV War
9. Things Will Get Better
10. The News
11. Shannon
142. Tegan and Sara  Klimt 1918 (3)
1. We Were Wed By the Sea
2. Swallow's Supremacy
3. Lomo
145. The Black Keys Dream Theater (10)
1. Blind Faith
2. Solitary Shell
3. Octavarium
4. The Count of Tuscany 
5. In the Name of God
6. Breaking All Illusions
7. In the Presence of Enemies
8. The Best of Times
9. About to Crash
10. The Great Debate
154. The Killers Receiving End of Sirens, The (6)
1. This Armistice
2. The Evidence
3. Wanderers
4. The Rival Cycle
5. The Crop and the Pest
6. Planning a Prison Break
161. The Strokes - Mew (9)
1. The Zookeeper's Boy
2. She Spider
3. Apocalypso
4. Rows
5. Am I Wry?, No
6. 156
7. Sometimes Life Isn't Easy
8. Comforting Sounds
9. Louise, Louisa
163. The White Stripes King's X (11)
1. Vegetable
2. Go Tell Somebody
3. Smudge
4. False Alarm
5. Alright
6. Freedom
7. The Other Side
8. Marsh Mellow Field
9. Charlie Sheen
10. Static
11. She's Gone Away
164. The XX Capital Cities (4)
1. Kangaroo Court
2. Venus and River
3. Farrah Fawcett Hair
4. Swimming Pool Summer
169. Vampire Weekend dredg (9)
1. The Canyon Behind Her
2. Gathering Pebbles
3. Whoa is Me
4. Quotes
5. Hungover on a Tuesday
6. Information
7. Convalescent
8. Bug Eyes
9. Ireland
170. Walk The Moon Wolf Parade (2)
1. Kissing the Beehive
2. California Dreamer

Aviatic - Goodbye Beautiful Day (1)
Green Carnation - Light of Day, Day of Darkness (1)

1. Adele (5)
2. Alabama Shakes (6)
3. Alt-J (5)
4. Amy Winehouse (3)
5. Andrew Bird (3)
6. Animal Collective (2)
8. Arctic Monkeys (6)
9. Atmosphere (5)
10. Bad Bad Hats (3)
11. Band of Horses (4)
12. Beach House (4)
13. Beastie Boys (2)
15. Beirut (2)
16. Belle and Sebastian (2)
17. Ben Fold (3)
21. Brandi Carlile (7)
22. Brother Ali (3)
23. Bully (2)
24. Cage The Elephant (4)
25. Camera Obscura (3)
26. Car Seat Headrest (3)
27. Cat Power (3)
28. Chance The Rapper (4)
29. Charles Bradley (2)
30. Chastity Brown (2)
31. Childish Gambino (4)
32. CHVRCHES (4)
33. Cloud Cult (8)
34. Coldplay (6)
35. Cold War Kids (2)
36. Courtney Barnett (6)
37. Daft Punk (5)
39. David Bowie (3)
40. Dawes (4)
42. Delta Spirit (2)
43. Dessa (7)
45. Doomtree (2)
46. Dr. Dog (2)
47. Elliott Smith (2)
19. Billie Eilish (2)
49. Feist (4)
50. First Aid Kit (4)
51. Fitz and the Tantrums (2)
52. Fleet Foxes (4)
55. Frank Ocean (3)
57. fun. (2)
59. Green Day (5)
60. Grimes (2)
61. Grizzly Bear (2)
62. HAIM (2)
63. HALEY (2)
64. Har Mar Superstar (3)
65. Hippo Campus (5)
66. Hot Chip (3)
67. Hozier (3)
68. Interpol (4)
69. Iron and Wine (4)
70. Jack White (2)
71. Jain (2)
72. Janelle Monae (7)
73. Jason Isbell (3)
74. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (2)
75. JD McPherson (2)
76. Jenny Lewis (4)
77. jeremy messersmith (6)
78. Johnny Cash (2)
79. Kacey Musgraves (2)
80. Kanye West (9)
82. Kings of Leon (3)
83. Lady Gaga (3)
84. Lana Del Rey (2)
87. Lily Allen (2)
88. Lizzo (9)
89. Lorde (4)
90. Low (5)
91. Low Cut Connie (2)
92. Lucius (2)
93. M83 (2)
94. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (3)
95. Maggie Rogers (2)
96. Margo Price (2)
97. Mason Jennings (2)
98. Metric (5)
99. MGMT (3)
100. Michael Kiwanuka (3)
101. Missy Elliott (2)
102. Mitski (2)
103. Modest Mouse (4)
105. Muse (5)
106. My Morning Jacket (7)
107. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (2)
109. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (2)
110. Norah Jones (2)
111. OK GO (2)
112. Outkast (5)
113. P.O.S. (2)
114. Peal Jam (3)
115. Pete Yorn (2)
116. Phantogram (3)
117. Phoenix (2)
118. PJ Harvey (2)
119. Prince (7)
120. Queens of the Stone Age (5)
122. Ray Lamontagne (3)
123. Red Hot Chili Peppers (3)
124. Regina Spektor (3)
125. Rilo Kiley (3)
126. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (2)
127. Robyn (2)
128. Santigold (2)
129. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (4)
130. Sharon Van Etten (3)
131. Sia (2)
132. Sigur Ros (2)
133. Silversun Pickups (2)
134. Sleater-Kinney (3)
135. Snow Patrol (3)
137. St. Vincent (6)
138. Sturgill Simpson (2)
139. Sufjan Stevens (4)
140. Sylvan Esso (2)
141. Tame Impala (7)
146. The Dandy Warhols (2)
147. The Decemberists (9)
148. The Flaming Lips (4)
149. The Fratellis (2)
150. The Head and the Heart (2)
151. The Hives (2)
152. The Hold Steady (5)
153. The Jayhawks (2)
155. The Lumineers (4)
156. The National (8)
157. The New Pornographers (4)
158. The Postal Service (3)
159. The Raconteurs (2)
160. The Shins (7)
143. The Avalanches (2)
144. The Avett Brothers (6)
162. The War on Drugs (5)
165. Trampled By Turtles (4)
166. tUnE-yArDs (2)
167. TV On The Radio (2)
168. U2 (3)
171. Weezer (2)
172. Wilco (7)
173. Wolf Alice (2)
174. Wolfmother (2)
175. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (6)

Dirty Loops - Work Shit Out [1B]

This new tune "Work Shit Out" is tight as fuck.

I know Dirty Loops,m enjoyed some of their tunes a few years ago.

They kind of take jazz and funk and make it poppy with tight musicianship.

And I'm not sure, but they may just be the 3-piece they show there with just Vocals, keys, bass and drums (no guitar).

They got known a number of years ago for doing outstanding cover videos. Their debut album in 2014 Loopified I don't think I ever heard all of, but I guess the 2nd LP is coming in 2019, so it's 1 to look for.

And they toured with of all bands, Maroon 5, although I doubt the wife will care much for them.

Update on May 2019

The 893 Essential Songs Reaction will happen, I am just not certain how soon.

I have the voters terrible, repetitive list of 893 songs and the Stats on it (over 50% were repeats, lol).

So I am now REPLACING THEIR NAMES with MY NAMES and having to list many songs for them.

It'll happen, but just with the multiples, it's 175 names, so it is understandable why it would take some time. But I needed to know THEIR LIST to know mine, how many multiples, etc.

buying a house and dealing with all the financial and other responsibilities with a loan and other expenses is becoming kind of a nightmare.

I do believe I know how much I need to borrow from the 401K though which is good. But I should have been warned, like a Colonoscopy and a Wedding, by far the worst or LONGEST PART is leading-up to it.

On June 1st and June 15th I may be able to breathe a bit.

DS9 Doc review and maybe something on the Ending of Big Bang Theory could come if time killing is available.

And the PGA this weekend which just feels weird in May.  Brooks Koepka is the best player in the world, but I'm still rooting for Rickie Fowler.

If the storms come, I don't know why I'll not be inside, but I just hope we don't loose power (or if we do, hopefully not for long).

Not my favorite band entries also in hopes to make...at least Memorial Day isn't far away.

2018-2019 Midseason Albums List

Pretty good 1st half of the year, although it does seem like in 2017 and some other years, none of the albums are clear-cut #1 or #1 and #2 really.

I.e. there aren't any 5 or even 4.5-star albums at this point for me. But I'll say those top 6 albums are all solid records, which in past years, sometimes the midseason list can come across as sparse in some ways.

I would hardly be surprised if among those 6 or even the top 10, if the large percentage of them stay at least in the top 20, if not top 10.

Foals, Local Natives and Ours especially are kind of historical staples and have always shown up pretty high in my list, which I suppose is kind of predictable, but shouldn't be discounted as they are all albums I enjoy and likely always will.

I guess the next 6 months will show what else will find its way in there. Some heavy hitters are coming (dredg, assuming their album is released this year. It would not be surprising if it came in 2020, and King's X is very likely given they started recording last month).

Plus the unexpected unknowns/unaware/unannounced albums (from past anticipations..say like Imogen Heap or Gotye or a lot of others found in this entry back in December

I will say, if that Dirt Poor Robins album comes out, it will be a very big deal for me, so I would not be surprised to fanboy it a bit and it'll crack the top 10 come November. But it may not fully come out then, but only some Singles or an EP per it's not like Neil and Kate live off and are spend all their time with DPR (sadly, it doesn't pay their bills I don't believe).

edit: Also a YouTube Video?..time permitting of course, but I would/will try and make 1.



1. Foals - Everything Saved Will Not Be Lost Part 1

Love pretty much all of this. "Syrups" maybe being my favorite. The last 3 minutes, the build/energy is really great.

Exits, White Onions, In Degrees, Sunday Morning, ...more or less every tune I enjoy. From high energy to funky and almost dance-able sections.

And Part 2 should be not ignored, which potentially I may see as 1 record (maudlin of the Well, 22 and others).


2. Ours - New Age Heroine II

A huge deal to have another Ours album come out (and likely the 1st of a bunch within the next year or 2).

"Fly" is among the best tunes they've made.

"Get-You-On-Your-Feet-So-You-Can-Fly...."

"Pain Aside" is quite catchy and another favorite.

Kill Me, You Are the Light, My Love, the title track are all enjoyable and growers. Even some of the other ballads I enjoy more now. But then again, Ours I'm a pretty massive fanboy so that factors in.


3. Owel - Paris

Kind coming out of nowhere to win me over.  "Get Out Stay Out" is probably the 1st go-to tune. Quite epic with the strings and other things.

The Mew fanboy in me finds this band and album really moving.

And like I posted in the entry about it, even though I hear besides Mew, a bunch of other bands, the songwriting works really well, it doesn't matter.

Their singer almost sounds like Jessy Ribordy in certain moments.

No Parachutes, Roma White, I Saw Red, Being Human is Weird, Jumble Gem, Goodnight, Weather Report among the others I keep going back to and liking more.


4. 22 - You Are Creating Limb 2

More great new tunes from 22.

"Call me Trimtab" and "Chroma Key" among the best tunes on the You Are Creating full LP.


5. The Claypool/Lennon Delirium - South of Reality

Been won over by this band's new album. Very Retro Funk/Psych/Beatles-sy.

I might be even more attached to it, minus the Claypool-humor, which is evident in small doses, but hardly unnoticed.

The 1st 4 or 5 tunes though all seem to work in different ways.


6. Local Natives - Violet Street
The production at points is different, especially on some of the snare sound. But I'll admit, these guys did it again! Catchy, funky at times, and experimental.

They manage to try new things and get them to work.

There's even some heavy, thick synths on here, that I might not enjoy, but somehow they pull them off.

"When Am I Gonna Lose You" is poppy as hell, and yet really layered and well composed. Maybe their catchiest tune since "World News."

"Cafe Amarillo" 'Shy" "Megaton Mile" 'Someday Now" and "Gulf Shores" are all enjoyable. Gulf Shores if I recall is the 1 with those synths that shouldn't but somehow are pulled off.

Taylor Rice's vocals at times are odd, and almost gang/multi-tracked without a single tracked vocal line, which kind of threw me off on this album. But I have warmed-up to them quickly and even some of the sonic elements.

I will certainly be going back to this album, and potentially it'll leap over some of these others.

These guys are almost like Mutemath or King's X. The moment I start to get down on them, their album wins me over. And I've been a fan since 2007, so I shouldn't be surprised I guess. they've always been great songwriters and all of their albums are good.

I guess Hipsters...you know, but sometime my bands are among the hipsters and vice-versa.

Another winning album from Local Natives!



7. Mutemath - Voice in the Silence [EP]

Some older tunes from the S/T and Armistice period mostly newly? recorded by Paul Meany, which for no other reason, adds appeal.


8. East of the Wall - NP Complete

"Clapping on the Ones and Threes" "Somn 6" and "Non Functional Harmony" are among my favorites, although I'll admit, after loving the initial singles, I haven't managed to go back to this one enough yet.



9. Jon Anderson - 1000 Hands

Surprising how much I'm enjoying this. "Ramalama" "WDMCF" and "Come Up" probably are the biggest winners here, although I find the flow of this album really works better than I expected.

Probably the best music Jon's made since "Open" even if technically much of this was written and recorded before that.


10. Motorpsycho - The Crucible

Maybe the 1st album I am fully on board with this band. The title track is a prog epic that for the most part works quite well. And with only 3 tunes, it seems to not overstay its welcome.

The 2nd piece "Lux Aeterna" is another banger.

Blending grindy stoner rock with horns and strings? it seems to work here.

The Crimson/Soft Machine element really works well at times.


11. The Mercury Tree - Spidermilk

Composed entirely with Microtonal tuning. This is bizarre how it seems the majority of the music is almost overtly in minor keys, yet it still works on a melodic level.

I don't think I've heard and enjoyed something like this since getting into Time of Orchids or possibly Deerhoof, many years ago.

Really ambitious, and while I don't know how addicted it'll get, I really enjoy a lot of it on more than 1 level.

"Arc of an Ilk" "Disremembered" "I am a Husk" are among my favorites.


12. Snarky Puppy - Immigrance
Enjoyable, including some Dream Theater and Pat Metheny-like moments among other things (some catchy jazzy funk). Although I'd be lying to say I've listened to it enough to put it higher.

They ultimately may be more of a great live band, with the studio albums only being Luke warm.


13. Dream Theater - Distance Over Time

I'm finding this more enjoyable than their last 2 albums. "Fall Into the Light" and "Barstool Warrior" are both fun tunes.

"Untethered Angel" 'Room 137" also work

"S2N" is rather unusual for Dream Theater, but on some levels I like how different it is.

Decent album, and one I can see going back to some here and there. It's not massively long and the meandering instrumental sections are more in-check.


14. Equipose - Demiurgus

Interesting progressive tech death, with some cool mostly acoustic and jazzy sections in-between the insanity.

Is this in the caliber of Spawn of Possession? I doubt it, but it may have a little more appeal than say most if not all of the Obscura records.


15. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Fishing for Fishes

Slightly improved vocals, but not all that different than some of their others.
Cyboogie is a fun closer but not unlike many of their tunes, it gets a bit too repetitive after 4 or 5 minutes.

This is their 14th album I count, since 2012, and 8th since 2015, so the quantity over quality argument can still be raised with this and them, but like some of their others (Polygonwanaland), it may grow some.

Then again Polygon is their most overtly Prog, so go figure.


16. Sermon - Birth of the Marvellous
Leprous meets Green Carnation (and Hands of Despair)? I enjoy much of this, although it's kind of samey at points.

"The Descend" and "The Drift" are my 2 favorites.


17. Steve Hackett - At the Edge of Light

Not short, but still enjoyable for the most part. Maybe the best parts of this is some of the Middle Eastern material (or using Sitar and some other instruments).

"Under the Eye of the Sun" and the 11+minute piece "Those Golden Wings" are my early favorites.

I wonder if he'll play some of this album at the show in October beyond the much beloved Genesis work (the full Selling England!).


18. Muse - Simulation Theory

Some nice love-letters to the 80's (The Dark Side and Thought Contagion), although the production is almost a deal-breaker at times.


19. Buke and Gase - Scholars


20. Mind Cinema - Sleep Clinic

Indietronica with some moments, but the electronic drums kind of killed it for me.


21. Facing New York - Dogtown

Fair comeback.


22. Amanda Palmer - There Will Be No Intermission

"Drowning in the Sound" is the 1 I enjoy. Sadly, I will just say most of the rest of this record lost me, Even the little instrumental interludes are just kind of meh for me.


23. Queensryche - The Verdict

No expectations. "Light-years" is decent enough.


24. Dan Mangan - More or Less
Not his best.

Mean to still hear:


Cats in Space - Day Trip to Narnia

Still need to hear.



Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Transiberiana

The most recent single "L'imprevisto" is quite enjoyable. The Keith Emerson-like section in the middle is well composed and reason to want to hear the rest of this.


Radical Face - Therapy [EP]

Haven't checked it out, although I guess this is Ben Cooper's most simplistic/stripped-down record which if that is the case, I may not even bother sadly. I guess I will see if I find the time and report back.

I worry I may get a similar reaction that I did to the Amanda Palmer record unfortunately.


Alan Parsons - The Secret

I have not, but still plan to listen to this.

The new/single VIDEO for "I Get There From Here" and its connection to the 2/12-years delayed John Francis Daley film 5-25-77 adds a bit to this.

5/1/19-10/31/19 Anticipation


Arch / Matheos - Winter Ethereal

Album of the Year? the 1st 2 singles "Straight and Narrow" and "Wanderlust" are bangers and among the best songs I've heard this year.

Friday May 10th. 


Masvidal - Mythical

Yes, Paul Masvidal of Cynic's new project. This is the 1st of 3 albums coming out.


Moron Police - A Boat on the Sea
This is coming in June. the 1st single is really fun. Next one is coming next Friday May 10th and I guess is a little heavier.


The Pneumatic Transit - Chordae Tendineae
Coming on June 14th. I heard it and enjoy a lot of it, albeit a little different from the debut album. Still, they continue to be among the best jazz-rock artists currently making music.



Thank You Scientist - Terraformer 
Coming on June 14th.

Despite my issues with their vocalist sounding like Claudio Sanchez, their music and even the material I heard from this album live has me interested. This is another 2019 double album which may help or hurt this for me.


Ulver - Drone Activity
Coming on May 11th I guess. I don't need Drone music, but their last album was really good and had charm.


Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2 
This is coming in September. Wikipedia already has many (8) of the confirmed tracks.

It's supposed to be heavier, probably more in the vein of What Went Down, but it was written when Part 1 was I guess.

Lumping the 2 albums together may happen as far as this blog/my aoty list. It depends.
Regardless, I'm fucking stoked for this after loving Part 1 so much. Foals more or less can do no wrong for me right now.

Titles
Dirt Poor Robins - Dead Horse
Fish - Weltschmertz
Ours - Spectacular Sight 3
Sculptured - The Liminal Phase


Some of the Artists/Bands awaiting more info: (also see this Anticipation Entry also referenced above)
Bent Knee
Disillusion
dredg
Enchant
Flying Colors
Fjokra
iamthemorning
King's X
Neverending White Lights
Pepe Deluxe
Soundscape
The Tea Party

OT: House (Part 2)

Offer made on a Town House on the West Side of St.Paul last night.

Offer accepted!

I'm not sure how detailed and specific I should get, but I imagine I will at some point, but I likely have to post or edit this entry about like 87 things to go over both what has happened leading up to this, and going forward.

Maybe the best news about this for this blog is, once moved and settled in to a point, I can finally move the fuck on with things.

Beyond the Midseason List (coming soon) and the React to 89.3 893 21st Century songs, I hopefully will finally try and discipline myself to try working on the book I want to attempt to write.

I also likely will have a Desktop PC setup at home to actually Work from Home (maybe once-per week per my co's policy, and then on evenings or weekends perhaps).

And YouTube (and possibly podcasts) could come at a larger clip. Some equipment may be desired with that, but when? maybe the holidays, I dunno.

But June 14th is the closing date, odds are July 1st we'll be residing there full time. However, my mother-in-law and the dog and how often we may be back at my wife's aunt's duplex after we move? I would guess somewhat often.

But those things remain to be seen.

also chances this town house could be equity and a transition to a home finally. Maybe we will be able to buy one when the market will be a Buyers market instead of the crap we've endured in a Seller's market when we started looking back in December/January.

Coming in May 2019...

Midseason Albums List which shows up to 27 LPs and EPs to varying amounts of experience listening to. Still that list along with the more interesting anticipation list hopefully will be arriving in the next couple of weeks if not by this weekend (half the work is making the list and copying the images, and I've already done almost 100% of both).

893. The Current 893 Songs List REACT TO. The artist list may need some more work, but selecting songs, and then the ole' tracking 89.3's list and MULTIPLE SONGS FROM ARTISTS which if I can manage the time to do will increase the number of songs from artists on MY list.

Thinking of doing hopefully relatively short entries about "Why is [Insert band] not my favorite band? entries. Like Rush being an obvious 1. I might do 5 or might do 50. It probably will be bands that I love a lot of their music and over a good amount of time. And then ultimately, I could do entries about my favorite band Marillion and favorite musician Kevin Gilbert.

and more that I probably have thought of, but haven't done.

edit: DS9 Doc review/hyperbole 1 that comes to mind.

of course time allowing. House hunting could impact it and videos made.

My wife and I are putting an offer on another (town) house soon. Our 4th..maybe this will be the 1.

Foals @ First Avenue 4/30/19

I saw Foals for the 3rd or 4th time last night, headlining at First Ave's Mainroom.

Set List below of course.

This concert will be remembered by me for a few different things. Probably first and foremost from my commute down to First Ave. I'm driving West on I-94 and it's raining out. Not heavily, but consistently coming down like it did all of yesterday.

I get to around the area of Huron Blvd and suddenly a somewhat sizable Yellow SPIDER drops off the Ceiling right in front of me on the driver's side.

I was beyond startled, but I immediately slowed down and blew at it as I had no interest in touching it with my bare hands.

The Spider I may have killed or it may have wandered off. I saw it in the little hole on the inside of the Driver's side door near the door handle and power window control.

I hope it's gone, but the experience and idea of what was avoided thankfully never left my mind the whole night, feeling like I dodged a bullet in some ways.

The show though it self was another epic, energetic fiesta of a kind that only Foals does so well. Yannis back when I saw them last at First Ave (2013), at least once walked throughout the mainroom's floor and upstairs to the 2nd level where I sat.

Well he didn't quite do that, but multiple crowd surfing moments of ecstasy, and the climax was him climbing to the 2nd level bars in front of the left side of the stage and basically doing a TRUST FALL into the crowd.

Very much in the vein of Paul Meany from Mutemath or even Darroh from Fair to Midland, almost going for the daredevil antics to great success.

The set list was great as they did a lot of the Everything Saved Will Not Be Lost Part 1 music. Syrups probably being my favorite, although I kind of feel as incredible as the ending of that track is, I could see at least live having them extending the build more and more live to go on for at least a couple more minutes. Even if Yannis just sings "Na Na Na" or "La La La" without any lyrics.

Spanish Sahara is always a showstopper, Black Gold as well of course. The What Went Down tunes I had yet to see were as if not more heavy live. Yannis pulled off some immense screams on them.

And then anything from Antidotes I'm thrilled with. Two Steps Twice is their classic show closer (when Yannis did the Trust Fall). The energy, groove, intensity, etc never fails to grab me.

While I don't know if I think this show was better than the 1 in 2013, they very much seem to  taking the baton from Mutemath to be a consistent great live band who are almost a can't miss.

Now we can just anticipate Everything Saved Will Not Be Lost Part 2 coming in September and hopefully no more spiders creeping me out in my car while I'm driving to Foals concerts.

also the 2 openers, Omni and Preoccupations has some moments. Preooccupations used to be known as Viet Kong, sound familiar and I mean to check out now. Their sound, especially the style their singer has stood out in some ways. The last song or 2 they did I was getting into as it was kind of epic. The synths almost reminded me of Wolf Parade and even some of the Cale Parks Indietronica stuff I've been vibing on lately.

On the Luna
Mountain at My Gates
Snake Oil
Olympic Airways
My Number
Black Gold
Spanish Sahara
Syrups
Providence
Sunday
Red Socks Pugie
Exits
In Degrees
White Onions
Inhaler

Encore:
What Went Down
Two Steps, Twice