Forest Park - Golden (Official Video, 10 minutes)

FOREST PARK "Golden" (2012) from Jarratt Taylor on Vimeo.

Oh man, I feel really dumb for not knowing about this video. Forest Park are a band I have posted about a few times this year, and I'll confess, I'm getting through the final submission of the 2012 Index, I found this video in revisiting info about them.

It is for the entire length of the song, which is over 10 minutes. But I think it captures the song wonderfully. This footage of I think all 4 members of this band connecting in different ways, some in nature, some with art, some with just hanging out and enjoying relaxation together.

Forest Park I really can't say enough good things about. I wonder if a lot more fans could catch on to them soon, especially who enjoy Post Rock that uses dreamy female vocals and trumpet. Maybe this video and things in 2013 will lead to that.

Opeth News : GOBLIN (new song title)

http://www.progrockmag.com/news/opeth-channel-goblin-on-new-track/

Opeth mainman Mikael Akerfeldt says the band have worked up two tracks for their next album – and one of them is a “crazy rip-off” that might just be too weird to appear on the follow-up to 2011′s Heritage.

The band started jamming with an idea while on tour, and the results are so similar to Italian prog outfit Goblin that Akerfeldt decided to name the track after the band.

He tells Uppsala Student Radio 98.9: “I came up with a little lick, and became a bit of a director. I just told everyone to play this and that and we started jamming.

“Immediately from the beginning, it sounded like the band Goblin. It’s a crazy riff. I’m not sure if it will be too much of a fucked-up song to be on the record. There will definitely only be one song that’s going to sound like that.

“The song is called Goblin, which is a good title. It’s really good – I love it because of the closeness to Goblin.”

The Italian band formed in 1972 and ran for ten years before splitting. They reformed briefly in 2000 then got back together in 2005, and continue working today. In the late 1970s they worked on a series of notably dark movie soundtracks.

Akerfeldt reveals less about the other Opeth piece he’s created, except to say: “I have a song I really like. It’s the most miserable song I ever wrote, and it’s beautiful, I think.” He says he has some other ideas for the record, which the band will start working on seriously next year.

Opeth guitarist Fredrik Akesson recently discussed fans’ reactions to their change of direction on Heritage, saying that one angry follower had challenged Akerfeldt to a duel during a concert.

I'm kind of impartial, as Heritage was very 70's prog like, but perhaps this next record of Opeth's will just be a little in a different 70's prog vein. Tull and Crimson with Heritage, and the next record Goblin and PFM?

Dave Brubeck 1920-2012

http://news.yahoo.com/jazz-great-dave-brubeck-dies-170159725.html


Upon seeing this news on Mike Portnoy's forum, I added this little background about him in the thread:

oh man.
 
I should share a little Dave anecdote personally. About 12 years ago, I went to the inaugural ProgPowerUSA in Lansing, ILL and got to chatting with a journalist of a sort by the name of James Bickers. And we got to chatting about music, prog metal and then other music we thought was relevant. And James stressed to me about how Jazz is a form of music people who love progressive stuff should listen to. And he specifically stated, start out and listen to Dave Brubeck. "He's an older fella, and we don't know how many more years he will be with us. We should cherish him while he's still around. But the spirit of progressive music is in his music."
 
And ever since then, especially given I was trying to get into more Jazz at the time and soon after, I always associated Dave with progressive music and his old age. Kind of sad, as I guess I always kept wondering how much longer he had left. And thankfully, he remained with us for nearly 12 more years after hearing about him in that conversation. I sadly, meant to, but never got to see him live. Although at least his sons are still carrying on his legacy and the tradition of his music.
 
RIP. 

I have always meant to really spend more time with his music, as I only really recall listening to Time Out (and at least knowing of many of his others, 1 being Brubeck Goes to College I recall) But James Bickers was right. Perhaps my Brubeck fandom will go up a lot in the next 2 or at least 12 years.
I wish Dean Magraw had known about this last night, as he may have thought to try and cover something by the man. I imagine it could happen soon anyway.

edit: Check Out James's personal account here, of his experience with Mr. Brubeck. Wow, he sounds like such a wonderful guy, I really wish I had been able to see him live, :(.

Short update

I hopefully will have a bit of time this afternoon to get back to my overdue/pastdue 2012 Album Index. However, an Editorial/Explanation about Life, the Universe and Everything from myself in my usual Soapbox kind of style really should come with it or soon before or after.

Dean Magraw with Davu and Claudia Schmidt are at Black Dog Cafe tonight again at 7PM, which will be my 1st Dean at the Dog show in a few months (not to mention my favorite Cuban Sandwich and their Carmel Apple Cider in season).

But time should allow soon hopefully for this stuff. Can I fire myself for being late? well, I dunno, maybe :p..or maybe a dock in pay, which would be of course, a whole $0 deducted from my non-existent paycheck, haha.

8:25PM
edit: Well I am now finally at Black Dog at 7:47PM. Long story, which may be long, or may be not so long. But right now I am inside Black Dog, but there are not any open tables or seats on the performers side of the  venue, so I'm strictly *listening* right now, rather than watching and listening.

1a) I have not come to see Dean both in December nor with Claudia Schmidt here, as the 1st time I recall coming here to see Dean, I believe was last February.

1b) It's totally fucking crowded here. Like, I don't think the shows in the Summer had even half this many people at Black Dog. Which on the surface sucks, but I guess I can't be upset because I like Dean and Black Dog. And Claudia  Schmidt I know has a following.

1c) I could not find a place to park. The crowd size I suspect has something to do with that. I am sadly paying for parking for the 1st time in ages in downtown St.Paul

1d) I could not track down 1 of the shared service centers in downtown St.Paul. I need to go back to google and find them, and maybe physically drive to them, to finally know where they are, so I never run into having to draw cash out and pay a chincy fee.

2) On the flip side, I did run into both Marc from KFAI and Mr.Fun who I recall seeing at the last show of Dean played at Black Dog, back in October.

3) I would not expect these circumstances again for the January/February/March etc shows , unless Dean gets with a performer with a following like Claudia Schmidt to come down here again. The fact this is during December, the so-called "Holiday Season" even if it's a Tuesday night, probably also adds to the crowd size tonight.

The Cuban Sandwich and Carmel Apple Cider killed though, so that helped makeup for these unforeseen circumstances.

Vuvuzela - Rings and Things (Official Video)

Interesting video, which sort of reminds me of if the kid from Where the Wild Things Are was fixating on Lord of the Rings or Camelot. I'm not sure if the kid could be Josh Benash as-a-kid? just guessing. But like most of Kiss Kiss's videos, there's always a humor and quirkiness to it. This though, doesn't seem so political.

Now the messages about the contest that just ended, are now moot because the contest did just end, and Vuvuzela just lost I think, to some band called Fashions. I'm not sure all what they would have won, other than more exposure and a few others things. But hey, the winners of American Idol have sucked compared to the Runner's Up. Even Bend Sinister only finished 3rd in the Peak Performance Contest back in 2009? but the bands who finished ahead of them? I wonder if they are doing as well as Bend Sinister have since, as they have seen more growth, exposure and success in the last couple of years (especially this year), as they ever have.

Perhaps finishing so close will garner some unexpected attention for Vuvuzela. Let's hope.

Rush - 2112

Unsure what this is, but it would be sweet if it were some kind of sync-ed Graphic Novel or animated film coming.

Today is 12/1/12 so perhaps that is all the reason taking off the 1st 1 in the Months's place, it does appear to be 2112.

2012 Album Index: under ****'s

Black Ribbons | Neurmancer
My order which was made on October 30th, has still not arrived. Incomplete right now as I haven't heard it. An Edit may come soon.


Felonious Bosch | Phenomena
Incomplete right now as I haven't heard it. An Edit may come soon.


Andre Matos | The Turn of the Lights
The 1st 5 tracks or so on this record, is more or less par for the course for Andre. Melodic Power Metal focusing on the songs, with the occasional technical or progressive part. For some reason, from the 6th Track "On Your Own" through the end of the album, he starts to experiment a bit more, and thus I enjoy that part of this record more than the 1st half. Especially the 8th track "Oversoul" works wonderfully. About midway through, there's this cool jazzy section, and if I'm not mistaken, the outro has this guitar work that reminds me of John Petrucci. Tasteful yet still technical.

Andre, while he may not have the vocal range he once did, and overall, may not be as progressive or ethnic sounding with his style of Power/Prog Metal, still is a better singer and somewhat better songwriter than more or less every other songwriter making said style of music now.

I was thinking though, it would be nice for him and the original guitarists of Angra, Rafael Bittencourt and Kiko Loureiro to let by-gons be by-gons and try and work together again. The Matos Angra was a special band, and had a special chemistry. It is kind of a shame, how distant Andre has become from those guys from what I know. Hearing "Sometimes," the closing track on this album, reminded me of my love of that stuff, as what that song really is, is a re-recording of the Angra track "Wings of Reality." One of my favorites off the Fireworks album from 1998.

Edit coming later today


Early Ghost | Cadaques
The title track stands out the most, in the alternative Spaghetti western element. I guess I enjoyed this album for what it was, but it sort only went into mood music territory after playing it a few times. Their EPs seemed to have more meaty songs that gave me intrigue about them. But, I just lacked the interest to play this a lot, as many of the songs, the best parts may seem hidden. Perhaps, it'll grow down the road.


The Bewitched | Without a Net
I was really happy for Mary and Eric to finally release their 1st full-length album. And I enjoy it, mostly for the right mellow, subdued mood. "Small World" and "Another Day, Another Life" did both translate well on record, from remembering them live. And the rest of the album, at times stayed with me. But I suppose given their hypnotic/trancey approach to acoustic music, including a middle eastern element, I just save for those times I am up for hearing that kind of stuff. I also think, getting to see them live again may force me to put this one on again. Hopefully that will come soon, as it seems like it's been ages since I've seen them, and I miss their shows. The 1 cd release show this past summer at The Amsterdam Bar, I should have gone to, and regret in some ways. But I ended up having a conflict at the last minute.



Exotic Animal Petting Zoo | Tree of Tongues
I enjoyed much of this, maybe more than I expected, the few times I put it on. The screaming, the jury is out on a bit for this album. Maybe my interest in Gatherer/This City Sunrise helped that. But how great this album is, or goes for me, is still unclear. I do recall some of the guitar-work being freakishly good at times.


Chrome Canyon | Elemental Themes
Morgan Z, from Apes and Androids (live), new project. It was labeled progressive-ambient I recall on 1 site. And it was released on Mayer Hawthorne's old record label, Stone Throws.

It's an epic journey, but in some ways, it took more for me to get through than I hoped for. Although, at times, those are the kind of records that work with more time. And I only played this 2 or 3 times. And I do remember enjoying many moments. Some of the voice effects, over the wall-of-sound synths were interesting. I even recall some humor in spots, which maybe that came from his time with A&A's?

I think this is a mood record, that might become brilliant for what it is with more time. Almost like Tangerine Dream. I recall another description giving it the space rock tag, although not exactly fast/energetic space rock primarily. More in the a ton of layering, space rock.

The jury is still a little bit on the fence, and I truly do want to love this, as the guy likely enjoys music I do, and anyone associated with A&A's I want to go to bat for. But for now, it goes under mood music that could have some growing.


Hung | Hung
An edit may come soon.


Jessie Ware | Devotion
A fella at the Menomena show suggested this British singer/songwriter's debut record to me. Mentioning Janelle Monae among some others. And I did hear some Janelle-like moments, although more subdued on many tracks. But there were I'd guess 3 or 4 numbers, namely in the 2nd half, that impressed me enough, to say I liked this.

I think the Janelle comparison is slight.

edit: "Running" is definitely 1 of the tracks I am remembering. Haunting tune, but she extends herself in the soulful way, like Kimbra or Janelle.

Overall though, this is a bit like Scott Matthews. Good, but I'm hoping there's more to come, especially more energy and someone mentioned production issues, which in some ways makes sense as this album seems just a little sleepy to really grab me at the level it could.


The Beach Boys | That's Why God Made the Radio
I honestly checked this out, and was charmed by it, especially the title track. And then never ended up going back to it. Why? time, motivation, and other factors. Also now, the fact Mike Love kicked Brian Wilson and Al Jardean out of the band recently, kind of hurts my interest to put it on again, at least for now.


Coheed and Cambria | The Afterman: Ascension
This is a short record, even though it's the 1st part, of a 2-part "The Afterman" story/series. The "Descension" coming early in 2013.

I'm going to be as short and sweet about this. It's better than Year of the Black Rainbow (although that didn't take much). And the music on it, overall is pretty good, approaching some of the levels of Good Apollo 1 and In Keeping Secrets.

But the narrative bits and SWALLOWING from them and Claudio I recall, KILLED THIS. It really did. This sort of goes with the Emanuel & the Fear issues.

It kind of sucks, as I was starting to believe a lot of the glaring comments about it. The "Entity Extraction" movements do have some amazing moments on them. But swallowing and the narrative stuff just bugged the fuck out of me, I couldn't go back to it after 2 or 3 times. I guess when the 2nd part comes out next year, maybe I'll try and give it another go, perhaps with the volume lower, but I can't say I expect those issues to go away.

Unlike The Mars Volta, even when they fixed the problems of their last couple of albums, they brought new problems that negated the elimination of the old ones.


Alcest | Les voyages de l'âme
I honestly listened to this once, liked how it sounded a fair amount like a heavier Klimt 1918, and never got around to revisiting it. I may go back and love it eventually, but for now, it's just another good album I didn't find enough time for to love.


Muse | The 2nd Law
The comments, and initial videos with the dubstep and olympic song just made me think the band took an even deeper nose dive. But, actually, they didn't quite. I like about half this album, and the best tracks, are pretty damn good in fact. There's a few sort of okay songs, and definitely some I skip. But I'm not gonna write them off, nor lie about how bad this album is, how pretentious they are, how they are selling out for another trend. The dubstep, was only really on part of the 1 song. "Unsustainable" which is the 2nd to last track on the record. It was almost like the Mike Portnoy growling vocals on Dream Theater's Black Clouds and Siliver Linings, (or the Prince ripoff with "Supermassive Black Hole" on Black Holes and Revelations). It was barely even present, yet people made it seem like they recorded the entire record to sell out to try and be late to the (awful) dubstep trend.

No, this record, I guess just running down the track list, the following songs work for me:
Supremacy
Animals (love the subtle crescendo in this one)
Save Me (nice ballad with vocals by Chris, their bass player)
Big Freeze (catchy)
Panic Station (it's pretty, despite it sounding like INXS)
Follow Me (the heavy synths work, and it builds well)
Liquid State (heavy groove with Chris their bass player also singing on)
Isolated System (the closing track, that is just piano with some sound clips and some other layers. It gives the story/theme of this album sort of a cinematic close).

So, that's what, 7 tracks out of 13, not too bad. I'd be lying if I even felt this album was worse than The Resistance.


The Royal Veil | The Royal Veil [EP]
The debut EP from this new heavy progressive/psych band from my hometown. I kind of liken their influences, if not much of their sound, combining music from artists like Tool, The Mars Volta and Pink Floyd. Of the 4 tracks (or 4 + 1 hidden) on this EP, the part that stands out most is the last instrumental epic "Trip" which definitely has a lot of shifting moods and time changes, along with dynamics, and textures. The rest of this record, is decent, including their singer, who has his share of range. I guess the other thing to keep in mind is, they have a debut record I shall be posting about soon, coming early in 2013 titled King of the Ocean. Which is among my most anticipated albums from Minnesota, and debut albums in general.


Oedipus | Vicious Little Smile
After a few EPs that followed a nice heavy, catchy, groovey college-prog debut record in Humbility from 2004 (or 2005?). This album, I think it's clear they decided to emphasize the catchy, energetic side more than any other. This really is a band who are power-pop in a lot of ways. They just use heavier guitars than say The New Pornographers.

It's a consistent record from track to track, with not too many amazing showstopping songs that overshadow others. But to point out a few of the ones I like the most:
Tres Las, Kiss on the Fist, Gimme a Chance, Perfect Strangers, Burn it Down and Lizzy.


Flying Colors | Flying Colors
Mike Portnoy, Steve Morse, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson. Yeah, supergroup, doing pop-oriented songs, sorta, kinda, maybe on some of it. I think my friend That Drummer Guy pointed out something that seems to be more or less unavoidable with anything Neal Morse sings on, and even plays on (which in most cases, are the same). Whatever music Neal Morse does tends to sound more or less like his other work.

This being no exception. And I am a fan of Neal's, at least when he's not singing about Jesus. And of course Casey McPherson does the majority of the lead vocals on this anyway, which I still stand by his Nick D'Virgilio vocal similarities. Which ironically, I ended up getting into Casey's band Alpha Rev as well, and I'd say I like their last album New Morning, overall a little more than this album.

The thing about this album is, I was hoping it would capture what I loved about Jellyfish and especially Kevin Gilbert, and I really didn't get too reminded of those bands by it. It really, more sounded like a mixed bag and slightly stripped down version of Transatlantic, if NDV was singing lead vocals. And while I love TA, it just ended up being somewhat unmemorable. I mean, there are some moments like on "The Storm," "Kayla," "Infinite Fire," and "Blue Ocean,"  that I do enjoy. And the rest of the record, nothing was awful (including the Portnoy sang ballad 'Fool in My Heart" which the comments about the song and his vocals on the song were polarizing in a lot of ways. And I guess it wasn't even his song/or idea to sing on the song in the first place).

But, this is certainly a band to watch, and even see live if by some odd circumstance, they did a tour that had enough dates to come to Minneapolis. And what they may do next is worth keeping tabs on, certainly. However, this album I just found to be okay, and didn't love like I thought the potential was enormous for me to. Ironically, this blog seems to find a wealth of hits about this specific project, I assume pretty much due to the fact someone linked my initial entries about it on both Flying Colors and Mike Portnoy's Wikipedia page. So, based on the traffic, you'd think I was obsessed with this album and band, when that was far from the case this year.

Did I enjoy this more than Mike Portnoy's other 2012 new band debut album, Adrenaline Mob's Omerta? uh, yeah, you could say so, lol. And as far as what he does next, I guess his plans in 2013, are more new projects, namely the Ritchie Kotzen + Billy Sheehan Classic Hard Rock-oriented thing, that should be worth looking forward to. Another maybe Transatlantic record, and perhaps something else from some of his other projects (PSMS: Billy Sheehan, Derek Sherinian, Tony McCalpine).


British Theatre | British Theatre [EP]
The 1st of 2 EPs, that Mike Vennart and The Gambler who created this group out of the ashes of the late Oceansize. This EP, from memory, was rather ambient. A bit like Oceansize's Home & Minor EP. I remember enjoying it, but it not staying with me greatly. Especially comparing it to the EP that followed later in the year. At this moment, I'm not going to give much in terms of specifics, but I guess for those unfamiliar, I'd check this out 2nd, instead of 1st. Also, consider this group was talking of a full-length as well, which likely will come early in 2013. This EP may be considered like a demo of sorts down the road. But I wouldn't say it's never worth playing again.


Bend Sinister | On My Mind [EP]
The EP that was a mix, but some of which were included a few months later on Small Fame, "Give It a Rest" and "Got You On My Mind.". "I'm the One Leaving You" "Please Say" and "The Road Divided" also carry the Bend Sinister sound, and their current element of emphasizing the pop/power pop and classic rock vibe in some ways.

I guess where this EP differs a bit from Small Fame, is maybe other than a little of "The Road Divided" it doesn't have as much of the little twists and things that many of the Small Fame tracks do. But as a b-sides and sampler for the band in the present state, it is pretty good.


Minus the Bear | Infinity Overhead
After 2010's Omni, and liking about 3 or maybe 4 tracks on that album, I just have lowered the bar for this band. And as a result, I don't mind this album. It's more of the synthy-poppy with little mathy/proggy bits thrown in some of the songs.

Some people hated this album since it was like Omni, some like me thought it was a little better than Omni. And some loved it. I remember liking some tracks, "Diamond Lightning" I recall and "Lonely Gun" (and it's energy, twists and the saxophone namely). among a few others. I mainly just remember thinking, uh, that wasn't so bad, after playing it the 1st couple of times. I suppose it's sort of captured a percentage of what I loved about Planet of Ice, but given the way they are, another PoI seems unlikely. But this still is enjoyable enough.


Agalloch | Faustian Echoes [EP]
I adore 2008's The White EP, so much so, I'm kind of depressed it's out of print. Maybe at some point it'll get reissued again. So the bar was kind of high for another EP. And while this is much different than that EP, it does share Agalloch's great use of soundclips from film.

It's one 20 minute song, that musically, the 2nd half/last 10 minutes, are better and worth the buildup to. The 1st 10 minutes are mixing sound-clips, atmosphere, and their Black Metal vocal styling of shrieks, moans and chants. The sound bytes I honestly didn't do research to get an idea of where they came from (like The White EP use of clips from The Wicker Man).

But just guessing, the audio sounds like it may be from some horror movie about Lucifer. Which I suppose story-dialogue wise, doesn't bring me as much as The Wicker Man clips. But, I am finding the more I listen to this, the more the sound bytes bring to the table.

I'm not sure, but with more time, I may grow to love this more than initially am now. Because this band know how to capture that emotion really well, especially with the right mood. Sort of like how The White EP seems to work wonders of sadness/melancholy for me on Friday afternoons in the Fall and Winter.

Perhaps Faustian Echoes will find a perfect timing for me as well down the road.


Spawn of Possession | Incurso
Well, among the Metal records that came out in 2012, not that many of them really stood out to me. A few did, but many of them just didn't do much, or impress me as much as I hope. I think some of that has to do with my mood for Metal, and also how much Metal there is to check out. I'm not the Metalhead some are, and thus, the quantity my Metal diet requires, especially in recent years and with less time in general for music, my Metal consumption has frankly, been reduced.

That all being said, Spawn of Possession are one of the best technical death metal bands historically. This record was praised by plenty. I understood why to a point, as the production and performances are among the best of their career, and that I've heard in recent years. But, my reduced interest in tech/death just didn't lead me to listen to it that much.

What I can conclude though, is if I'm looking for some technical metal right now to play, I may go to something like Brain Drill, or East of the Wall's album The Apologist from 2011. But I also may just keep this one in mind as well.

Jazzkamikaze | The Return of JazzKamikaze
I loved 2010's Supersonic Revolutions, so much so, I kind of expected something in the same vein here. But my lack of hearing their back catalog much, led me to understand why the title is what it is, and how SR was sort of a 1-album experiment.

I guess the band Mogwai did that as well, by having a singer on 1 album, and then realizing they were best as an instrumental group. IQ made a Punk Record in the 80's, etc. 1-album style changes are not new.

This record, is pretty much Jazz and subdued jazz of sorts. It's stripped down. They do use a lot of sax of course, like their past work. But the big production and heavier riffs are less present.

I guess I'm not crushed by the style *return*, and I have grown to like some of their earlier, all-instrumental jazz/jazz rock albums. Traveling at the Speed of Sound from 2007 namely. But to be honest, compared to a few of the other 2012 jazz-oriented records, I didn't give this one as much time. I have been on a recent Jazz kick of late, so I may revisit this soon just to see if may go any further.

But for now, it's decent for what it is, but middle of the pack for Jazz-related 2012 records even.


Moonloop | Deeply From the Earth
A late addition thanks to That Drummer Guy's list. I have enjoyed this for it's ability to capture the mid-period Opeth, and make it maybe a bit more psychedelic.But I can't say a ton more about it, given how new and lack of time with it. But for some reason, among many on TDG's long list of 2012 albums, this one stood out more than most.

Certainly another to revisit and maybe elaborate at some point.


Crippled Black Phoenix | No Sadness or Farewell  [EP]
A late year release that I just heard a few weeks ago. It clocks in around 30 or 35 minutes I recall. Some rather mesmerizing passages on it from memory. I suppose in some ways it works better than the Crafty Ape album just for a bit less extensive experience time wise.

I mean style wise, there's not much variation from the Crafty Ape or some of their others, it's just less total time.

CBP are a band I like, and have found they have created some wonderful pieces. But they are not exactly into moderation, which given how long Crafty Ape was, or 2009's even the double (or 4?) LP The Resurrectionist &  Night Raider 2007-2009 A.D. .

But ya know, this EP, has some of those great moments, even as gradual as some are like the outro with the chanting on "Hold On (So Goodbye to all that)" and the segue into the mesmerizing, methodical piece "What Have We Got to Lose?"

I'm sort of torn about them, because they do have a lot of great music, but the fat that exists on their albums, like a lot of Post Rock I don't enjoy but think I could enjoy, sometimes kills their potential. But this EP, for the most part I do enjoy, and may enjoy even more with time as it's only like 2 weeks old.


Oddland | The Treachery of Senses
Another That Drummer Guy submission that worked for me, late in the year. And of course it's Metal. This album is like 50 or so minutes long, and the odd thing is, the version I have was all on 1 track. So, I can't point out all the specific songs from experience.

But, I'll say, the 2nd half or maybe just as the album goes on it continues to get better. The singer continues to get better. He sounds like a mix of Mikael Akerfeldt and a bit less so, Daniel Giildenlow. But, he also sort of has molded his own vocal sound within reminding you of at times those two. Not to the point of a clear, extensive, copycat voice, but just in subtle nuances, that within the writing of his vocal lines, do work rather well at times.

I am probably thinking of some of the parts where he's expressing some kind of passionate part that harmonizes with the music. I really doubted he would come up with vocal lines that good, but unlike many of these wannabe singers in Metal bands, trying to sound like their heroes, he still focused enough on how his singing fit the music and songs.

I will say, the style here, while like Opeth, does not include a lot of growls. It's more like Green Carnation I suppose, in that there is a high level of intensity, but to call it extreme or a form of Death, or 'core Metal doesn't really, exactly fit. It's more dark, and a bit black, symphonic progressive metal, that doesn't emphasize chops, but more arrangements and emotion.

This band/album I'd put along side some others in past years like Enditol, Journal and Hands of Despair. Good songwriting, good enough technical prowess, and not really sounding highly derivative, which ends up being like 90% of the Metal bands I get suggested it seems.


Josh Benash | The Dismal; The Beautiful
The 1st of 2 2012 releases from Josh Benash, ex-Kiss Kiss frontman/singer/guitarist. Well, this album I supported and enjoyed, rather early in the year. But I didn't listen to it addictively, mainly due to much of ithe overt humor in a lot of the songs.

I don't like to describe his music as novelty, as Kiss Kiss only could  be in a few tracks historically, and I'd say more than half of this album isn't. But there's a few on here, namely the Pancake tune, that is comedy. "Asshole" sort of it excessively tongue-in-cheek. "She is Bad" sounds almost like a failed attempt at sounding drunk, high, or something else, over lots of layers of distorted background tones.

"My Little Noose" is goofy, but also catchy/circusy. And with sythns, is almost the opposite of Vuvuzela. It does remind you of a lot of Josh's best songs.

"The Worst" is a tune that slowly builds to a louder layered section, but that part only goes on so long until it transitions back to the quiet base of the song.

"I Like the Way You Sigh" does work, even as slow as it seems, does have this sad, sympathetic, almost prayer-like chanting.

I mean there's some good work on this record, certainly, but a lot of it really mixes pieces that are really quiet or seem slow or too short, with Josh's experiments at humor. And the end result, I'm sure he's totally proud of, and myself, I'm left with mixed feelings.The best moments still are not to forget, but after enjoying it a lot early in the year, a revisiting of it led my feeling of it to come down to earth a bit.

And of course Vuvuzela, well, that gave more proof why when he's good, Josh is one of the best and original/experimental songwriters working today. And still, some of that is evident on here as well.


Rush | Clockwork Angels
I could say a lot about this, or just put it simply. This is their best record since at least Counterparts. But, it also is not as good as their extensive more or less flawless run of Caress of Steel through Presto.

But track wise, here are the goods:
Caravan, BU2B, The Wreckers, The Garden, Carnies, and Headlong Flight.

The rest, including like the title track, have some parts that work.

"The Garden" is gorgeous, and really sad in many ways. I almost cry hearing that tune and "The Wreckers." Maybe because it is Rush, and I have loved them for so long, and this may be their last work ever.

I really appreciate the strings used on this record, at leasths most of the moments they are used. It was a really nice touch to hear with Rush's music.

The concept, well, I'm not all that into getting into, but I find it cool they are made a concept album after a long list of epic/conceptual mutli-part songs but not album? (some say this is their 1st concept album, but, I would ask them how 2112 is not a concept album).

Anyway, the idea of death, existence, and time travel? I dunno, whenever I get to read the novel that Kevin J Anderson wrote and was published/released on September 4th. I recall reading Neil wanting to be a consultant for a stage version or something.

But, anyway, novel schmovel. This record I enjoy, but also would hardly call perfect. But it's a big improvement on Snakes and Arrows and I'd say I like more than Vapor Trails certainly (as much as I've grown to enjoy that record despite the production issues).

If it's their last, it's a great Swan Song. And if not, I am definitely optimistic about their next record, how many years down the road that could be.


Crippled Black Phoenix |(Mankind) The Crafty Ape
Well I would echo much about what was written above with the No Sadness or Farewell EP..Actually, early in the year, a lot of people were praising this album, and for good reason as it has a lot of good music on it. My issue mainly was, it sounded a lot if not pretty much the same as I, Vigilante from 2010. The record I caught on to them with. But I Vigilante is 6 songs, and maybe 45 minutes? Plus the cover of  the early/pre-Steve Perry Journey, "Of a Lifetime" is infectious.

But this record, is like a Tales or Skinny Fists or something in that it's a double disc, and 3 "Chapters" worth of music. Yeah, I can love epic records, even when they last 2 discs worth like The River Empires. But with those, there's usually a great flow. This album, while it can flow, just kind of could use some fat trimming for the sake of not getting worn out by their sound.

I mean yeah, I love how this band have a big Pink Floyd influence, and have carried on the Post Rock tradition of Alt-Country/Western/Morricone elements that Clann Zu and Murder By Death used to do. However, those groups kind of had album composition in mind along with where the ideas took them.

I guess overall, this album is still not without value, and has many moments to enjoy, but it may never receive the addictive level, even I Vigilante has. Now the No Sadness or Farewell EP I think may have a chance to surpass this with some time. We'll see.


Between the Buried and Me | The Parallax II: Future Sequence
I tried awfully hard to love this thing, and it hasn't happened yet. I enjoyed the 1st Parallax Part EP last year more, I think due to the fact it was like 30 minutes, and the whole thing never overstayed it's welcome. A bit like Colors.

But I'm afraid this suffers very much of what The Great Misdirect does. The extensive parts don't always go places, and when they do, the build up isn't worth it overall.

I mean I would say I enjoy this, a little more than TGM, but the band have just fallen in love with wanky chops, and some other stuff like Tommy's fixation with Mike Patton. He has channeled Patton before, but the approach seemed to stick out too much this time to me.

Some of the guitar work is nice, yeah. And I'll lay it out here. Ironically, 1 of the sections that does work start to finish is the 15 minute piece "Silent Flight Parliament" where you get some jaw-dropping, and for some reason, the noodling doesn't ruin it.

Also "Astral Body" is another highlight without flaw.

But part of the whole album's flaw is, there's so much to get through to get to "Silent Flight Parliament" I ask myself, why couldn't have this part of the album come earlier?

Damnit, this band just irks me. Because I totally dig them when they do great things, but i'll say the stupid meme that is on some of the boards: They're becoming Dream Theater, which is not necessarily a good thing.

I want them to do different things, but it's hard to ignore how great Colors and Alaska are, and then look at TGM and this and scratch my head.

Maybe they need to evolve back a bit like The Mars Volta. The Volta found my doghouse with Amputechture, and with their next record, they fucked up again with terrible production on Bedlam. But since, they scaled back with an acoustic record in Octahedron, and the new album Noctourniquet, they fixed their mixing problem and wanking problem, by writing interesting SONGS.

BTBAM could do something like that, but not if they end up continuing to make music about length, chops, and an endless number of ideas with a lot of time (unlike say Kiss Kiss, or Unexpect), which is like 65 minutes? Even at 65 minutes, it just *feels* long..too long, maybe even longer than the just over an hour it clock in at.

I dunno, I do love this band in many ways, I may have to eventually just accept this is what they want, and try and just focus on the best parts of each album, kind of like Muse or even Dream Theater, lol.. Because there's some awesome music here, it just reminds me a little too much of the major chore and lack of enjoyment of 2009's largely looked down upon album, The Great Misdirect.

But I did say back then, following up Colors would be no easy task. Now I guess it's not about making another Colors, it's just trying to accept this is who they are, and I can focus on the great stuff despite it not being on the whole record.


Memoryhouse | The Slideshow Effect
The debut EP they released last year, came out of nowhere, being a Radio K staple, and a therapeutic/mesmerizing work for me to go to in the right mood. And this debut album, while even though P4K pimped it, I enjoyed a fair amount of it regardless. The single "The Kids Were Wrong" was an upbeat, pop tune, that got some airplay, but disappeared I noticed by late Spring.

I guess having not listened to this in many months, I'm just remembering it being good, but more standard College Pop/Rock with the dreamy/psych element toned down. But I did enjoy more than half of it, and was surprised when reading some disappointing reviews about it. The Years EP was different, but I found Denise's vocals to be soothing still, and Evan's guitar work still found that melodic sense I enjoyed about them.

They really are a much more creative, organic, and still dreamy version of She & Him.


Mercies | The Ballet [EP]
Edit coming later today.


Bloc Party | Four
Edit coming later today.


Menomena | Moms
Edit coming later today.


Umbrella Tree | To the Memory of a Once Great Man
Edit coming later today.


The Mars Volta | Noctourniquet
I can't believe the traffic this blog got when I started posting stuff about this. It was insane. Almost like I represented a label, or some professional media source (I'd like to say I am, but I am DEFINITELY NOT at this point). Something like 1100 hits in 1 day.

Blech, but that was early in the year. And this was an album I was very curious about, despite my love/hate relationship with them.

This album, ended up being refreshingly good for a number of reasons.

1) there's about 3 or 4 outstanding vocal lines Cedric Bixler put down here that don't leave your brain for hours. The tracks:
- "Aegis" I'm not running awayyyyyyyyyyyy..I'm not running awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, ayyyyyy"
-Vedamalady"
-"Zed and Two Naughts" Saint Chris-to-fer..don't go wandering with no one left to save. because no one is at the wheel..Saint Christ-to-fer..don't go wandering with no one left to save. because no one is at the wheel"

I love the reward with "In Absentia" and the hypnotic ending.

The electronic element for the most part works, and I'll say, it doesn't sound drastically different from their "sound."

"The Whip Hand" and "Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound" are probably the only 2 duds on this album, the latter being primarily due to poor production, but not so much on the cymbals mix, but just WAY too much Reverb and compression. But I don't find really any other tracks on this record that suffer from that issue.

more to edit in later, but a conflict just arised as I am heading out from my Saturday afternoon Overtime shift to meet the gf for lunch and a movie.


Lehto & Wright | November
Another group following up an absolute classic in 2010's Children's Songs. And I pretty much assumed this would not be CS Pt 2 or anything. And actually, this record in some ways is sort of like a mini-album or 1/2-new music, 1/2 interpretations of covers. And I really enjoy every track on here. It's just more subdued and not nearly the length of CS's. But the covers are nice, I think my favorite being the Woody Guthrie cover "Tom Joad" which is sort of epic in a way, as each verse seems to feature the guitar work of Steve Lehto.
"The Humors of Tuaimgreine/RakishPadddy/The Callahan Stomp" is a cool medley that does remind me not only of moments from CS's but many of their other classic multi-part suite compositions. Some of it even features a bit of Sitar-tone moods.

"Shenandoah" which also was on the EP of that name from 2011, is really a nice, calming/soothing ballad. The closing track "Dominion of the Sword" is another track that originally was on that Shenandoah EP, and that included on here. It is a piece where they went for the time changes and riff emphasis, even as short as it is, it almost feels longer than the just under 4 minutes it lasts.

This record is comparable to a lot of their other records in terms of consistent song quality, with some big moments. And the fact they did 3 covers and 2 tracks from an EP, I almost see this as an EP of new work. John Wright is really prolific, including his work with his wife Lisi in The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra, playing with Greg Herriges, and a number of other local talents; the odds of another L&W record coming in a year or 2 are probably good. I guess it'll be interesting to see how much more writing he, Steve Lehto and drummer Matt Jacobs will do soon.

They're still one of my favorites, and proof prog is alive and well with the musicians residing from my hometown.


Archive | With Us Until You're Dead
An interesting record, that I really enjoy a fair amount of. It's kind of the natural step for the band after 2009's trip-hop heavy Controlling Crowds to do even more darker laden, almost using synthesizers as a dark-bedding, for their entire album.

But I guess this album doesn't include quite as many breathtaking moments as their last. I will say, a song like "Hatchet" the more I played it, the more I love it. Along with the track that follows, "Damage."

The strings (orchestra?) they used worked in a way, although when I 1st read about them using a string section, and thought of the potential, I wondered if they may be used in a much bigger, grander way. But they were more purely for darker textures, outros, and subtle moments of light.

This is a good record, and one, like most of Archive's albums, probably will be more enjoyable with time. But I guess it is a common case of a band whose previous record was so good, it's almost impossible for them to impress me at the same level the next time, at least right away.

I do think, like Controlling Crowds, this album went even under the radar, probably even more so. Any momentum they got from Controlling Crowd's, at least outside of their native England, seems hard to notice, as I didn't see anyone talk about this album, at least yet, unfortunately.

I actually think the fan-base from bands like dredg or Woven (and the British band Stateless for that matter), would enjoy this, maybe even as much as CC's.



Emanuel & the Fear | The Janus Mirror
The 2nd release from this ambitious, orchestral rock band. This album works on some levels better than Listen, their debut record from 2010. However, it does not include any tracks as amazing as "Jimmie's Song" or possibly even "Guatemala" or "The Finale." But it is not as long a record, and it flows better.

It also doesn't include as much of the swallowing that killed much of my love for Listen, however, there is still enough subtle swallowing, I found myself frequently turning down the volume in spots, namely towards the start of many tracks.

Emanuel Ayvas does share a number of things in common with Sufjan Stevens (and Matt from Anathallo), with his ability to arrange instrumentation in rock, conceptual ideas, using dynamics well, and his approach to vocals and the in-your-ear whispering that has you feeling like you're in the inside of his mouth. Something, I would love to avoid hearing. But it may never happen, as it's his approach to singing/writing and RECORDING softer vocal parts. But sadly, it has prevented me from loving their music a fair amount more than I could.

That being said, there is still a lot of nice, riffy, chamber rock on this album. And it does work on many levels, one being less-being-more.

\
Negroni's Trio | On the Way
Another nice record from these guys. They call themselves "World Jazz" or "Latin Jazz," but at least my favorite moments from them, are at least somewhat in the fusion vein. "Oak Tree" is intricate and really badass. The piano phrasing is rather technical.. "Matices," "Expressions," "My Way," and "Looking For You" all stand out with the syncopation and interplay between the piano, bass-guitar and drums. There's even some violin work that fits.

This is modern jazz, that works in the less-is-more way. But they do get playful and technical enough for my tastes, even when it's subtle.


Diablo Swing Orchestra | Pandora's Piñata
I really enjoy a lot of this, maybe as much as their last album from 2009 Sing Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious. I suppose I never got addicted to this album, as much as that last one, for one reason, maybe due to expecting more of it. I used to hate the Opera vocals from this band, but they don't bug me now. Plus they are only sparsely used. But this album definitely has a catchy-ness and energy to it. It's heavy enough in spots, but also more uses cabaret in a on odd way, that is chaotic, but controlled chaos I guess. The opening single "voodoo mon amour" is maybe the most memorable track.

I suppose it didn't make the 4-star mark due to lack of time spending with it. But I did revisit it a few weeks ago, and enjoyed much of it. It may be an album I'll get more out of down the road, as nothing about it bugged me, and it still included more or less throughout the whole album, what I like about this band.

Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep (2013)

Target Date for this album is March 1st for the Limited Edition. I'm curious about this as I have posted recently, with Enchant singer Ted Leonard coming on board. I haven't heard this sampler above yet. I guess the key could be the songwriting and how well his vocals fit Spock's. I haven't been all too into their work since Neal Morse left, but given I'm an Enchant fan, I'm a lot more curious about this album, more than any of their records in a long time.

http://www.facebook.com/spocksbeard/posts/387733371309051

PREORDER SPOCK’S BEARD’S 11TH STUDIO CD NOW!

The preorder for our next CD has finally begun!

We are now taking preorders for a Limited Edition of our 11th studio CD.

Target delivery date for the Limited Edition is March 01, 2013

Proceeds from this preorder are a necessary part of the funding required to put out a quality product, so your support is greatly appreciated!

The title of the CD is “Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep” and will be shipped as a main disc PLUS a bonus disc. This privately released Limited Edition will contain an additional bonus track and some extra booklet pages that will not be on the InsideOut release in April.

As a gesture of appreciation for your trust in Spock’s Beard, by purchasing this CD before it is even finished your preordered copies will be shipped a month before being released worldwide by InsideOut / Century Media.

You’ll notice that there are more preorder options this time, one of which is a digital download. There are also some more expensive packages offered that are quite unique and may be highly interesting to some of you.

Check it out! Preorder soon because it is a Limited Edition with only 5,000 units available. (The 5,000 total units available will be divided between digital downloads and physical CDs). Once they’re gone, they’re gone, never to be reissued.

Thank you for your interest and support!!

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" released 11/30/1982

Not that it's as huge a deal to me, as to say my girlfriend, but today is the 30th Anniversary of the release of Michael Jackson 's landmark record Thriller.

And for the Record: I did buy the cassette tape, sometime around that time, more likely in 1983 or even perhaps '84. A cassette tape, along with Prince's Purple Rain I still own to this day.

Steven Wilson Band - The Raven that Refused to Sing (and Other Stories) (2013)

1 Luminol                                   12:10
2 Drive Home                             7:37
3 The Holy Drinker                     10:13
4 The Pin Drop                     5:03
5 The Watchmaker            11:43
6 The Raven that Refused to Sing  7:57


The new album by Steven Wilson and band “The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories)” will be released on Kscope on 25th February. The album was written between January-July and recorded in Los Angeles in September with Steven’s current band line up of Guthrie Govan – lead guitar, Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Marco Minnemann – drums, Adam Holzman – keyboards, Theo Travis – saxophone / flute and engineered by legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons. More details on StevenWilsonHQ.com http://stevenwilsonhq.com/sw/new-album-details

Not a ton to say really, as his solo work has been spotty at best for me. Worth checking out, and it's intriguing to consider his band is different. But those Porcupine Tree plans? yeah, the band seems to be still a ways away from reuniting still.

Hotel of the Laughing Tree - Mammoth Skin Pt. 1 [EP] (2012)

11/27/12 3:10PM





The whole thing can be streamed and downloaded (name your price). More comments should come on this entry and/or the Album Index which should be right around the corner.




1 link



1. Make Waves
2. People That We Please
3. Flowers and Lawyers
4. Waterfall Games
5. Brotherly Thunder




 from November 17th

Hello,
It has been quite some time since we have updated anyone on what we're up to.

We have had a lot of changes since we released Terror in 2011. Band members have left, new ones have joined.
We have reflected on our existence. Where were we, where we want to go. A lot has happened behind the scenes. We buried ourselves in a hole and we are now just preparing to come out of it. First though, we

'd like to share our thoughts on what has transpired during this time.

Hotel now consists of 4 members. These 4 members have been working on an EP for the good part of a year. Progress has been slow due to many factors. Mainly personal lives getting in the way, but also our complete jadedness towards the music industry in general. We've seen a lot of talented musical acts get the shaft in the past few years due to the fickleness of this unforgiving machine. I don't think it's any secret that the music industry is in chaos in it's present form. It's made us question if we really want to be a part of it.

At this point, we really don't even have all the answers as to what we want to do. We know we are done caring about record and merch sales, touring in a van that breaks down more oft than not, playing in venues that time has forgotten. We don't mean to sound unappreciative. We love you guys SO much. Maybe we lack the drive these days. Maybe adulthood has made us more logical and less passionate. Maybe we just don't really enjoy it. We're not charismatic, rockstar-esque . Half of us play video games over the weekends and have modest social lives. We enjoy simple things and the potential glamour that so many chase is not something we really desire. This band started because we wanted to write music that we enjoyed and would hope others enjoyed as well. You can lose track of that after awhile. We certainly have. And it made us hide.

We know one thing for sure, and that is that we love to write, record and play music. We are going to continue doing that. As I mentioned, we have been working on an EP that is now completed. The name of the release will be "Mammoth Skin Pt 1." We will be releasing this digitally. Pay what you want. We plan on playing shows whenever possible as well.

And that's it. No big promotion and whatnot. This is a release that is lacking any bells and whistles. We're just throwing some songs up and we hope you guys enjoy them.
We'll be releasing it on NOVEMBER 27TH, 2012.

For now, Hotel is taking it day by day, and we'll see where that takes us. As always, we appreciate the support we have always seemed to have gotten, undeserved or not. We figured we'd repay that with some truth.

Well, not enough time to add all that I'd like to about this, but 1st and foremost, it's good to see they are still a band and have this new DIGITAL EP coming next Tuesday, 11/27.

The music industry can suck all kinds of ass, since it seems you either have to be a flavor-of-the-month or a local/regional artist/band to sustain a reasonable length career. HOTLT are a band who have (had?) a ton of potential after an amazing debut record. Hopefully they will go the way of like Fates Warning, with even a reduced lineup, the importance to keep making music outweighs the challenges their lack of financial stability allows. Perhaps they'll be able to do what Water & Bodies seemingly are doing, be a regional/local and release new music every year or 2, even digitally. Maybe they could setup a Pledgemusic or Kickstarter for their next record.

But in the mean time, I'm pretty excited to hear these 5 songs next week. The fact it's titled "Mammoth Skin Pt 1." suggest they have ideas for a part 2 or more. Maybe a little like BTBAM latest concept. Although I'd be surprised if this EP is as long as the BTBAM EP from last year.

"If I were a Rich Man...yada yada ditel dum..."

WKRP (in Cincinnati) used Pink Floyd's "Dogs"

I was just watching an episode of WKRP earlier this evening with Sparky Anderson that a friend of mine suggested I DVR via "MeTV." And WKRP is a show I was only vaguely familiar with in the past a bit, from seeing it in reruns, as I was rather young when it originally aired from 1978-1982. I was just reading up about it and then stumbled across this video where they used some Pink Floyd, and not the predictable radio hit Floyd, but "Dogs" off of Animals.

So, it just supported a lot more of the feeling I was getting when I wrote that post last night about The Current's "Time Machine" and song lengths, and how Radio (and television and other forms of media) used to be able to use stuff without restriction (save for things that violate FCC rules though). I mean 89.3 did play some Floyd, and even a few deeper tracks like "Lucifer Sam" and "Fearless"...but what about a song like "Dogs"? All 17 minutes and 3 seconds for that matter. In 1978, Radio stations could and DID play songs of that length.

Based on the lengths of every track on Animals, unless they had edits (which I'm sure some stations did/do) the only tracks from Animals that would suit 89.3's length would be the "Pigs on the Wing" intro and outro with their whole minute and change they clock in at.

I honestly do not recall any radio station ever playing anything off Animals (save for KFAI, which I was one of maybe a few programmers who have over the years), which by many fans feeling, is Floyd's best record (and I'll admit to be of that feeling, although I LOVE a number of their other records, Obscured By Clouds and Atom Heart Mother among them).

89.3 The Current's "Time Machine"

I tuned-in scarily, for a lot of 89.3's "Time Machine" marathon weekend, the past 4+ days, and enjoyed some of it, admittedly.

But it of course was not without a handful of flaws/could be much better if they did a few things.

1) If they were forced to avoid playing the same artist more than once, even say just within 5 years.

2) didn't restrict their typical *radio friendly* length to many songs. I was looking at the number of tracks they played in many hours, and it seems to be between 13-18. Given a bit of time of the dj's being on the air, that ends up averaging the song lengths to being around 3 minutes. It almost seems to be more about quantity than quality I suppose.

3) don't play the hits. They play some deep tracks, but why do they have to play so many of the songs KQ and other stations have beaten to death? If you're going to play something off Led Zeppelin IV, avoid "Rock and Roll" and "Black Dog" at all costs.

Those factors aside, in just tuning in and small talk with my girlfriend about it, she suggested I make my own playlist. Which I figure I could do, especially without including artists 89.3 has been playing (just to show how much more than worthy music they don't play, but could).

So I just scanned my rateyourmusic listing for 2005, as 2005 was an incredibly deep year for music. And I came up with a (somewhat incomplete) playlist below

Vedera - The Falling Kind
Greg Herriges - Thirteen / It Plays Me
Bend Sinister - Hell or Shelter 3:52
Karnivool - Themata 5:40
Josh Rouse - Streetlights 4:24
Porcupine Tree - Lazarus 4:18
Margot & the Nuclear So & So's - Skeleton Key 3:25
Klimt 1918 - They Were Wed By the Sea
System of a Down - Old School Hollywood 2:56
dredg - Bug Eyes 4:14
Imogen Heap - Headlock 3:36
Neverending White Lights - The Grace 5:19
Between the Buried and Me - Alaska 3:57
Oceansize - Meredith 5:26

but I'll confess, I tried to include some artists that the songs that might make sense from their album from said year, but for some, the TRACK LENGTH just ends up being 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 minutes long, and thus 89.3 wouldn't give it a chance in hell just based on that shear fact alone. Which leads me to why I often hate making playlists or compilations.

When you have to consider TRACK LENGTH in picking songs for a mix or playlist, it sort of RUINS the whole idea in a lot of ways. Because, the length of a song, if it's really good, should really have very little to no baring on how you feel about it, or if it should even be recommended to someone. Especially if Radio were how radio really should be at its best. And ironically, many of the years their "Time Machine" played music from, came from periods of time when TRACK LENGTH had nothing to do with if it got played on the radio or not. I'm referring to the 60's and 70's, when FREE FORM radio existed, hell, even THRIVED in a lot of ways.

This does go back to a number of reasons why 89.3 bugs the fuck out of me. Because it's not the fact they don't play the music I love, but the fact is THEY COULD play it, BUT CHOOSE NOT TO. And I'm not referring to in the Wee hours of the morning. I'm talking DRIVE TIME, PRIME TIME and MID DAY hours.

If they even could do a special Weekend, or hell, even an Hour or 2 like they do with the "Time Machine" every week, that was intentionally not restricted to TRACK LENGTH, that would be a big step in the right direction for them.

Of course their argument would be along the lines of, well if we play 7-15 minute songs, many of our listeners including members will tune out and not renew their membership. My comment to that is,  if people listening and pledging expect the station to play songs at a certain length specifically, I'm not sure I'd want them to be members anyway. I mean 89.3 is supposed to be about the people, and not corporate ads. More music, less filler radio content. Also, by opening up your playlist format (length), odds are a lot of new listeners would come on board anyway.

At any case, this is another hyperbole that I need to put to bed. But I thought it may be worth sharing.

Michael Dunford (Renaissance) RIP

http://www.facebook.com/notes/renaissance/michael-dunford-of-renaissance-passes-away/431595216896389

I just saw this on Facebook, what a sad start to Thanksgiving Weekend. And Renaissance have a new album coming soon, which also makes this sting even more. I will never forget finally getting to see them June of 2010 in Chicago.
 

R.I.P. :(

Michael Dunford of Renaissance Passes Away 
by Renaissance on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 3:40pm · 


Michael Dunford, musical composer and guitarist of the progressive rock band Renaissance passed away on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. He had just returned home from the first leg of the band’s North American tour and suffered a massive Instantaneous Cerebral Hemorrhage while dining at his home in Surrey, England Monday night. He was rushed to hospital where doctors declared his condition irreversible and terminal. He passed away at 11:06 pm GMT, surrounded by his family without having regained consciousness. 
  
The fairly reclusive and soft-spoken composer, a mainstay in the world of progressive rock, was born, raised and educated in Surrey. His first job was selling clothing in a local shop followed by a stint as an airside driver at Heathrow Airport which enabled him to form a “skiffle” group which lead to his first rock band called Nashville Teens in the early 1960s. Nashville Teens reached #6 on U.K. singles charts with their version of Tobacco Road. On leaving them, he formed several other bands including The Pentad and The Plebes. One night he went to see the original band Renaissance perform locally and ended up joining them in the early 1970s. The original band members were Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo, John Hawken, Keith Relf and Jane Relf. 
  
Dunford and vocalist Annie Haslam took over Renaissance’s reins in 1971 and soon had established the group as a world class recording and touring act, selling out venues like New York’s Carnegie Hall and The Royal Albert Hall in London. They would go on to release over a dozen albums before eventually parting ways in the mid-1980s. However, they would continue to write new material together and in 2001 reunited the band to record a new studio album, tour the following year, and release a live album. After another sabbatical, the refreshed line-up was introduced to the world and captured for posterity on Turn of the Cards and Scheherazade and Other Stories Live 2011. 
  
Earlier this fall, Dunford and the band completed recording their first new studio album in twelve years. Grandine il Vento was recorded at Studio X in Ridgewood NJ, USA. All the music on the new album except for one track was composed and arranged by Dunford and features him on acoustic guitars and backing vocals. 
  
Michael Dunford is survived by his wife Clare, two sons William (13) and Oliver (10), and sister Judy Kendall. Services will be held at Woking Crematorium at a date to be announced. 
  
For more information and materials contact:Howard Wuelfing at Howlin’ Wuelf Media, Inc. 215-428-9119, howlingwuelf@aol.com

A note or 2 about 2012

Given some circumstances, namely my back issues, and in the interest to publish it in a desirable amount of time (i.e. by December 1st if not earlier), the 2012 Index will be a bit different than the past couple of years.

I will just say, I have a list of course, and among that list, I have weeded it down to around 24 releases now, that are I guess I would say worthy of 4-stars or higher. Or, just releases I know well enough to write something about (I think!).

Then there's a sizable number of releases that have music I like on them, but for various reasons, I'm not exactly in love with. And I guess just in the interest of time, I may or may not include much of a blurb about. In other words, it'll likely be more of a random thing. Perhaps a twitter-length blurb, perhaps more, or perhaps nothing.

There also likely will only be 2 entries for now, the 4-stars+ one, and the under 4-stars one. The under 4-stars also won't have an exact order or numbered rankings.

2012 was an unusual year. And one that I honestly did not have the time or energy to amass a typical type of year's worth of music. There still was a lot of good music, some of which I heard, some of which I didn't have time to hear, and some which I suspect I have yet to hear.

I guess over the next 10 days or less, I'll find out how this slightly new approach works for me, but if it does, I can't imagine not doing it again next year, just in the interest in making this process easier on myself.