I told you I moved, right?

I mentioned before that I kinda/sorta moved over to BackseatSandbar... so...

I saw The Killers along with the great band Ra Ra Riot. Here's what I had to say:

Review: The Killers with Ra Ra Riot @ Indiana Horseshoe 8/8/09

Long time, no see

I've been off writing for the Louisville music blog BackseatSandbar. Hence, no new posts here. Check us out over at http://backseatsandbar.wordpress.com/. We'll have a Casiotone For The Painfully Alone review with videos of every song up quite soon.

Stay tuned there. Well, here too if you want. Probably nothing new for a while here though.

Enjoy.

Portishead - Third

Guess I should have started at the first one, but I found the third one. I heard Portishead do a guest DJ set on NPR's All Songs Considered podcast and that was the first time I had heard their music. I remembered it enough to get this CD about 4 months later. I'm slow. Deal with it.


When I was buying this CD it was Record Store Day, so I also had a stack of records including, but not limited to, The Decemberists, Belle And Sebastian, Elvis, and The Monkees. Quite a variety of music that was purchased that day. Even though it was RECORD Store Day, I looked through the used CD's, as always. They are cheap and good, so I look. I almost always find something I want to get, so this time I got Third by Portishead. While I was buying my massive stack of vinyl, this CD was set to the side. I had paid my total and was ready to go when we noticed that I forgot to get the CD. I was already totaled and paid, so he gave it to me for free. Such a nice guy. Plus, I guess it helps that
I spend my entire allowance at that store every month. As I was leaving the store, another person told me how good the CD is. He said, "It's spy movie music." I laughed and left, then I listened to the first song and knew what he meant.

I have kind of a spy movie-esque car, so I turned up the volume a bit louder than usual, opened all the windows and the sunroof (it was about 78 and sunny), and drove around town really fast. It was fun until I ran into traffic. Oh well, I guess spies run into traffic sometimes too. The music didn't have to slow down though, after a while it did, but not for long. It picked up again after a few songs, as did my volume levels. So did my car's speed, and that was fun.

On the NPR Podcast I mentioned earlier, they called Portishead's music style as trip-hop. I hadn't heard of this before, and now I am aware that I kind of like it. I now have learned two new styles of music since writing this blog; shoegazer, and trip-hop. Any other electronic sounding music styles I should know? Huh?

I've given this about two listens all the way through and have become lost in it. Be careful, you'll be addicted soon enough. That's a good addiction though, I certainly don't mind not being aware of anything while I listen to a record.

Written in 15 minutes while highly caffeinated.


Two favourite tracks:
Silence/Machine Gun I can't choose.
Threads

Death Cab For Cutie - Louisville Show Review

I wrote a review for the Death Cab For Cutie show in Louisville from last week. Local music blog Backseat Sandbar was kind enough to let me write it for them and they posted it that same day. Even if you don't read my review, check out their blog. I would have missed quite a few shows if I didn't find their blog that one fateful day.

http://backseatsandbar.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/review-death-cab-for-cutie-palace-410/

http://backseatsandbar.wordpress.com/

Recent Purchases 4-18-09 (Record Store Day)

It was Record Store Day on Saturday for those of you who didn't know. Even though I just spent way too much on Thursday, I had to get more. I also caught Ben Sollee's set at Ear X Tacy which was incredible. I'm definitely going to try and catch him on May 8 in Louisville.

Steve Martin - A Wild And Crazy Guy 12"
MSTRKRFT - Work On You 12"
The Decemberists - Her Majesty 12"
Billy Bragg - Life's A Riot ETC (With The Between The Wars EP) 12"
Belle And Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap 12"
The Monkees - More Of The Monkees 12" (the first record I remember having as a kid)
Elvis - Let's Be Friends 12" (for Morrissey next time)
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds 12"
The Beatles - Rubber Soul 12"
Record Store Day 2009 12"
Various other free RSD promo 12"

Black Kids - Wizard of Ahhhs 10"

The Smiths - Headmaster Ritual 7" (I got the only 2 in Louisville [as far as I know])
Tom Waits - Live 7"
The Pretenders - Break Up The Concrete 7" red
Jenny Lewis - Carpetbaggers 7"
Depeche Mode - Wrong 7"
The Decemberists - Rake's Song 7"
Grizzly Bear - Live On KCRW 7"

And, I know it was RECORD Store Day, but I got 2 CD's (plus a ton of promo CD's from RSD)

Radiohead - OK Computer (3CD Special Edition)
Portishead - Third CD


That's it for a while.

Recent Purchases 4-16-09

David Bowie - Live Santa Monica '72 double 12"
Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles 12"
Mates Of State - Re-Arranged: Remixes Volume 1 12"
New York Dolls - New York Dolls 12"
New York Dolls - The Early Live Years blue vinyl 12" (to replace the one I gave Morrissey)
Matt & Kim - To/From 10"
Elliot Smith - Needle In The Hay 7"
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone/Donkeys - Split 7
Q And Not U - Hot And Informed 7"

And...

I won a free turntable from Ear X Tacy on Vinyl Night tonight! I got a raffle chance for each record I bought, plus they were all 20% off tonight. Good night indeed.

Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward

The billing and shipping weren't the same. You didn't have to, but I do thank you.










I received this in the mail as a kick in the ass to write more of these. I wasn't expecting it, but then again, I don't expect a lot of things that happen.
It's true, I'm not familiar with Depeche Mode's Some Great Reward. Well, I was with ONE of the songs. You would think that with all this 80's that I'm exposed to, plus the fact that the 80's are cool until next year (the decade that is two decades past is always the "in" thing), that I would have heard all of this at some point. Well, I often disappoint. Here goes though, broadening my past.

I first played this through a few times in my car, and I felt like John Hughes was telling me where to drop off Judd Nelson so that we could pick up Molly Ringwald to go get dinner. Meaning: it's very 80's feeling. Which is easy for me to say, because that's what I imagine the 80's were like. So, in my mind, this is the way things were and are.
Something To Do starts out the record by making me feel like I'm supposed to be running. I don't know what I'm running from though. Oh, right, because I'm running to something. Fast paced and so fucking catchty.

Lie To Me, no, please don't. This is totally an 80's gettin' it on song. More mellow and darker than Something To Do, it has a great swaying feel to it.

People Are People is the only song I knew on this record. I never knew it was Depeche Mode though. I used to hear it when Louisville had an 80's station. Then it turned to country, then I got an iPod and left behind radio. You've heard it. If I've heard it, then you've definitely heard it before. No explanation necessary.

It Doesn't Matter comes next and makes me think that if I went to a cool music-nerd 80's prom that I would be dancing to this and then making out to it later. It's a slower one kids, but it's still a good one. Guess I'm a sucker for the slower mellow ones. That's what old age does to me. My days of pop-punk are done for.

Stories Of Old starts out slower but then brings in catchy synth and vocals. A good little kick is in this one.

Somebody slows it down again, and that is not a bad thing. It's a slower one, so of course I love it. The piano in it and ambient background noises make this a nice and relaxing song. The vocals are just as flowing as the piano, and together they sound very smooth.

Master And Servant is completely different than the last track. More of a feeling like Something To Do made me have. For you kiddos out there, this sounds like a Faint song. You know them, right? One of you is seeing them tonight! I really can tell that they got a lot of their sound from this song. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I just thought of their sound when hearing this song.

If You Want starts out slowly until the noises start happening. Picks up with a jumpy beat after that. Most of these songs make me feel like I should be at a club somewhere at 2 in the morning, this one has that feeling too. I'd still be ordering drinks for everyone because we're all doing strange dances in a dark room, even though we know it's almost time to go.

Blasphemous Rumors is the last song on this party mix. It's a long one too, but I don't mind. It has that good epic feeling that I expect of a longer song. I really love the dark but light sound of this song. Makes me feel fine that I've reached the end of the record. Not all the way fine, but it's something that I can handle.


I am happy to have heard this record, and to be able to be back at writing. No matter how much drivel there may be. As always, enjoy.


Two favourite tracks:
Lie To Me
Somebody