Song for October 31

For some reason, whenever I'm traveling on a plane, train, or automobile, I almost always seem to listen to Joe Purdy. This is a more recent song of his and a favorite of mine:

Last Clock on the Wall--Joe Purdy

Song(s) for October 29

Rocky Votolato--Alabaster

Okay, and since I forgot to post one yesterday....Keeping the singer-songwriter trend going:

Justin Townes Earle--Midnight at the Movies

EMP

Its multi-colored design and funky shape had been staring me down for days until I finally stepped foot inside its doors this week. The "it" in this situation is the EMP (Experience Music Project) located near downtown Seattle, directly next to the Space Needle. The EMP is a highly interactive "museum" with a wide variety of exhibits going on at any given time. I use the term "museum" loosely because at no point did I really feel like I was in a museum-type atmosphere.

The first exhibit I saw was the Can't Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film exhibit. Now, I'll freely admit that I'm a baby when it comes to horror films. I rarely ever watch them and find no delight in being frightened. That being said, this exhibit was awesome. They had artifacts from classic movies (The Shining, Edward Scissorhands, Alien, and many others) on display and a booth where you could get photographed while screaming. The pictures are then put on the wall lining the staircase as a mini-exhibit of their own.

Next up, it was on to the Avatar exhibit. Full disclosure: I am one of the very few who has never seen this movie so I will not try to describe everything I saw without much background knowledge. After seeing this exhibit, however, I'll be watching this movie in the very near future. Very cool. I should note they also have a Battlestar Galactica exhibit going on that I know very little about. The extent of my Battlestar Galactica "knowledge" is Jim Halpert mocking Dwight Schrute on The Office.

My favorite part of the EMP was a room appropriately titled the "Sky Church". It is the world's largest indoor movie screen and was playing a live video of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust". Freddie Mercury was wearing nothing but a white hat, a handkerchief and towel around his neck, and very short shorts. Let's just say you couldn't focus on much else due to the 8,000 foot screen emphasizing these shorts front and center. Take a look at it yourself and you'll see what I mean:

The Sky Church would be an amazing place to hold a party, dance, wedding, or just about any other celebration that would give you an excuse to spend more time in this room. Shortly after leaving this room, you stumble on the "Roots and Branches" art piece which is a collection of guitars, organs, banjos, drums, and other instruments that are tied together in a tangled root-like pattern. I think that just about speaks for itself.

The main event of the EMP right now is probably the Nirvana exhibit and rightfully so: It gives a very intimate look into the life of the band throughout their entire career. There are homemade pictures, letters, and possessions that make the band seem more accessible than ever. The sign of a job well done is that it made me very interested to delve into the music and history of Nirvana more than when I walked into the EMP. Next door to the Nirvana exhibit was a Jimi Hendrix display that paid tribute to his career by showing old instruments, wardrobes, and text from Hendrix's lifetime. Fittingly, before you see the Hendrix exhibit, you can enter a room that details the evolution of the guitar over time with a nearly endless display of guitars dating back to the 19th century until today.

Lastly, there is the Sound Lab floor where you can take a crack at becoming a rock star. Key phrase: take a crack. At least, that was my experience....I learned that I am no Hendrix and that I can't even "slappa da bass" like Peter Klaven from I Love You, Man. On this floor, you can play guitar, drums, bass, vocals, DJ, mix final tracks that you put together, among others. Sound cool? It is.

Overall, I came away very surprised with how expansive and interesting the EMP was from exhibit to exhibit. Although I only spent a couple hours there, it is certainly a place you could find yourself at for an entire day. If you happen to be an avid horror film/Avatar/Nirvana/Hendrix/Battlestar Galactica fan (and really, who isn't?), this is the place for you. And if you're not? Well then you're like me and you'll come away from your trip to the EMP with a new appreciation for them all and wonder why you hadn't visited the eccentric-looking building sooner.

Songs for October 26

A couple weeks ago, I saw Mason Jennings at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle with a band called The Pines playing as the opener. I've known the music of Mason Jennings for a while but I have only scraped the surface of The Pines' library of music. (Jennings proclaimed that The Pines were one of his favorite bands in the world) The song that stuck out the most in the set for me was "Shiny Shoes":

Last year, a collection of amazing musicians released a John Prine tribute album to pay homage to one of the more influential songwriters of their folk generation. Prine's songwriting style is as unique as his semi-gravelly voice but the musicians were up to the challenge and produced some really great covers. This one was done by My Morning Jacket--Jim James later went on to perform it with Prine on the Late Show with David Letterman. Both are wonderful versions but here is the studio version:

Songs for October 25

Some kind of wonderful pop song.....Marshall Crenshaw--Someday, Someway

And yet another song from the upcoming Decemberists EP---"Foregone" (This may be my favorite song of the year from them....to be determined)

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/10/decemberists_foregone_long_liv.html

Songs for October 24

The Decemberists released the first track off their upcoming (Nov. 1) EP Long Live the King. Surprise, surprise, it sounds wonderful. Check it out over at the equally wonderful Paste Magazine website: The Decemberists--E. Watson

I've been walking up and down a 6th Avenue a lot lately and this song instantly entered my mind and hasn't left.

Lastly, I swear I'll stop flooding this blog with Ryan Adams music at some point soon but for now the run continues.

Song of the Day--October 23

Blind Pilot--Just One

Ryan Adams--Benaroya Hall--Seattle, WA

It's been over four years since I last saw Ryan Adams perform live and during that time, it was pretty unclear if he would tour again or, if he did, what kind of tour it would be. So when he began announcing solo acoustic dates earlier this year, my fingers became nearly permanently crossed hoping that I would be able to catch one of those shows. After last night, I can now uncross my fingers. Adams performed at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle to a sold-out, mostly well-behaved crowd that was quiet during the most important parts and loud when Adams needed material for in-between-song banter. It's not always good to get so excited for a show like I did for this one because then I'm potentially setting the bar way too high. Well, I can say that my excitement level (which was about 1,000,0000 on a scale of 1-10) was met by the performance. Beginning the show with "Oh My Sweet Carolina" set the tone for how absolutely incredible the rest of the night would be. As everyone continued settling into their seats, Adams soft vocals had everyone leaning a little closer to hear every detail until his harmonica pierced through the final notes of the opening song. Every lyric could be heard crystal clear, making it feel like an intimate room even though the capacity sits at 2,500. As a few final people entered their seats near the front row, Adams playfully jabbed at them after the song "Where WERE you?! I was so worried about you." Right away, it was clear that he is comfortable being on a stage again and that the audience was getting not only a phenomenal music show but also a pretty great comedy show as well.

For the next two and a half hours, Ryan Adams sifted through his catalog of music, both new and old, without any real lapses or lagging moments. Often times, I'll check the time during a show but there wasn't a single time during this one I felt the need to. Other musical highlights from the show included a beautiful stripped-down version of "New York, New York" on piano, an up-tempo "My Winding Wheel", the Heartbreaker classic "Why Do They Leave", and on and on and on. I'm not sure why I'm even bothering to list single songs because hearing each song in the solo acoustic format was beyond words. And back to the banter....the audience was laughing hysterically for the majority of the show since Adams loves to talk with fans who yell out things in between songs. He's a very sarcastic, quirky man as was evident when he spontaneously wrote the song "Psychic Cheetah" in the middle of the set and performed it without a hitch. Most of the time, he told jokes with a straight face but even he couldn't contain himself late in the set and cracked up with laughter. It was amazing to see how he could juggle between the wild and weird banter and then launch right back into a song that had little or nothing to do with psychic cheetahs.

On stereo, the music of Ryan Adams has a way of triggering emotions that I've found few musicians can compare with. When played live and acoustic, the songs take off to a whole other level. Each lyric sounds a little more honest. Adams voice conveys the songs with added emotion. The bare and simple trio of guitar, harmonica, and piano combine to play songs in a way that maybe no full band could compete with. The songs simply hit you in a different way and last night at Benaroya Hall, it was clear why I had been so anxious for this show. The music of Ryan Adams has almost always been gorgeous and so, too, was everything else about Friday night in Seattle.

Setlist

And now: Time to dance

Fool's Gold--Surprise Hotel

A fun video and a fun song for your Friday!

Elliott Smith (1969-2003)

Maybe it isn't the type of music you listen to in order to feel happy or full of love. In fact, for most, it's the exact opposite; it's sad music from a man who was troubled for a good portion of his short life. Nonetheless, the music of Elliott Smith stands on its own with his unforgettable whispery-falsetto (that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one...) and painfully revealing lyrics. Elliott Smith died on this day eight years ago but is far from being forgotten in the music world. In 2007, a tribute book was made in honor of him by Autumn de Wilde. I remember hearing him for the first time from a couple live shows I found on the internet. Along with original songs, he played a couple tremendous covers. One of which was "Jealous Guy" by John Lennon and another "For No One" by the Beatles.

And an original of his: "Happiness"

Song of the Day--October 21

Ryan Adams--Oh My Sweet Carolina

Song of the day--October 20

Bowerbirds--Northern Lights

Song of the day: October 19

Uncle Tupelo--New Madrid

I can see the pines are dancing

Daytrotter.com in and of itself is worth a very lengthy blog post but I'll leave that for another time. However, the A.A. Bondy Daytrotter session from May of 2008 can be summed up pretty easily: it's incredible. I always seem to go back to it and I love how it sits atop my iTunes library each time I open it due to alphabetic organization. Bondy is a tremendous singer/songwriter who crafts lyrics like the best of them even if he doesn't always receive the recognition he deserves. One of my favorite lyrics on this session: "God must pull on the string/So the moon can rise and sing/For every man and every beast/As the night comes rolling in". Or there is: "And looking at the sky there is no pain/See the stars all falling down like burning rain". Check out the session here: A.A. Bondy--Daytrotter

These are my confessions

Following Usher's lead, I've decided to come clean: I need to air out some musical confessions of mine. While I'd like to believe that everything I listen to is pretty awesome and that most everyone would agree, I'd be fooling no one by doing so. You see, I enjoy Wilco, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan. But I also enjoy Taylor Swift, the occasional Justin Bieber, and some Dixie Chicks. To be perfectly honest, it doesn't even bother me much to admit it. I'm a firm believer that if you like the music and the way it makes you feel, then roll on. If that means wanting to dance to"Baby" like a teenage girl, then so be it. If it means feeling a sense of innocence and nostalgic heartbreak while hearing "Fearless", then be my guest. I'm not saying that I, personally, have done either of those things....well, okay, I am. Bottom line: Next time you hear a song that you absolutely dig but are afraid to admit it, go ahead and remember that I freely admit to loving the song "Complicated" and don't be ashamed.

Here are a few more of my not-so-guilty pleasures: "Not Ready to Make Nice" , "Jealousy", "Party in the USA".

(I'm gonna regret admitting all this, aren't I.....)

Lawrence of Arabia

While I can't relate to the song title, it doesn't mean it isn't a really good song.

Lawrence of Arabia--I've Smoked Too Much

If this America is any indication, I was born into one great big vacation

Ryan Montbleau Band--My Best Guess

Now I'm Walkin Backwards from Chicago Through Washington

One of my favorite aspects of changing seasons is that it gives me an excuse to become obsessed (or in this case, re-obsessed) with certain musicians. This fall, Ryan Adams has claimed that spot and rightfully so, with his latest album "Ashes and Fire" being released this week. It has been a while since we last heard from Adams and I don't think anyone really thought he was going to "retire" forever. Instead, he found his lovely wife (Mandy Moore), wrote a couple books of poems, and sobered up. Needless to say, it was a recipe for success because he seems happier than ever and some would argue that "Ashes and Fire" is Adams at his finest. To me, "Heartbreaker" is near impossible to top but that doesn't mean this album doesn't rank up there. From start to finish, there's not a song I feel the need to skip over. Sure, they're mostly acoustic tracks that don't necessarily showcase his full repertoire of sound but acoustic Ryan Adams is the best Ryan Adams, in my opinion. Here's a live performance of the final track "I Love You But I Don't Know What to Say". He's currently on tour, performing solo acoustic, and I am super fortunate to be seeing him next week at Benaroya Hall in Seattle (review to follow....hold me to it). Here's the title track performed in-studio--Ashes and Fire, and several other favorites of his: Hallelujah, Call Me on Your Way Back Home, Dear Chicago, My Winding Wheel.

(Oh, and the title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with Ryan Adams. It's an M. Ward lyric from Carolina. M. Ward is another fall obsession on the horizon...)