Woohoo, I'm Goin' Bigtime!

No, just kidding. No bigtime for me. I just finally got around to forking out the 8 or so bucks for a domain name. I've been meaning to do this for a while, but am just now doing it because I am starting to play around with some other blogging tools/hosts, etc. and don't want to have to keep telling people new URLs if I make changes. So... drumroll please... from now on, please go to: http://www.worthymusic.net Exciting, don't you think? Yeah, me either. For now, I am going to stay on Blogger, but I am looking at some other possibilities like Typepad, WordPress, Movable Type, Textpattern, etc. but all of those cost some level above free, whether it be for the software itself or, in most cases, the web space to host it. So, I am testing out a bunch of stuff to see what I like. I think the biggest reason for me wanting to make the switch besides my curiousity is post categories... something so simple, but just apparently not something Blogger will be adding any time soon. Also, I like some things like the TypeLists in TypePad, etc. We'll see. One added feature of actually paying for it would be that I could hold someone accountable when things don't work. I've been having a lot of problems with Blogger lately but since it's a free service I get what I get... sigh... Chris

An Early Arrival!

Glen Phillips - Winter Pays For Summer Ooops, apparently my calculations were a little off! Glen Phillips' new album is already available on Rhapsody. Perhaps they are slowly getting back to making new releases available first thing in the morning on Tuesday morning. Anyway, now you can see if you agree with all my blabbering about this album this past month. It's also available on iTunes and, of course, you can buy the CD itself from Amazon. All links below! Enjoy!

Busy Man

Glen Phillips - Winter Pays For Summer Just a quick post here with another Glen Phillips playlist. This time, I've included all the collaborations I could find on Rhapsody. He's had quite a bit more than this list implies, but many are not on Rhapsody... such as flapping Flapping, Cory Sipper, Headless Household, Kenny Loggins (yes, Kenny Loggins), among others. Some of these are obvious, like all the Sean Watkins collaborations, but other's are quite bizarre, especially the backing vocals on The Atari's single, "The Saddest Song." Some are easy to pick out, like the Mutual Admiration Society for which Glen provided lead vocals (I only provided two of their tracks rather than the whole album), but others are faint, like both the Matt Nathanson tracks. Glen Phillips Collaborations Glen helps out other's collaboration lists on his new album out tomorrow. Appearing on it are Ben Folds, Andy Sturmer (Jellyfish), Dan Wilson (Trip Shakespeare/Semisonic), Jon Brion, Kristin Mooney, Pete Thomas (Squeeze/Elvis Costello and the Attractions). Enjoy!

One More Day

Glen Phillips - Winter Pays For Summer Ok, the day is almost here. The release date for the long-awaited, highly-anticipated, major label debut for former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Glen Phillips. It has been in my player non-stop for the past month and I cannot wait to listen to a first-quality version, rather than the 64 Kbps WMA stream version. It is truly a great album that I hope, hope, hope gets Glen the kind of attention he deserves as a songwriter and performer. Based on my super-secretive, highly-scientific, extremely-complex calculations, the album will be available on Rhapsody tomorrow. I'm estimating sometime between 12pm-2pm EST. I'll keep my eyes peeled and let you know ASAP. "Eyes peeled" ... that's gross if you really think about it. In preparation for his new release, I've made a playlist of some Glen classics. It includes the first single from the new album, "Thankful," plus a gorgeous song that was written for him to sing by Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, "Let It Fall," and a bunch of his Toad the Wet Sprocket stuff. Made sure to include some live tracks from the recently released Toad album, Welcome Home: Live At The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara 1992. I hope you enjoy all of this as much as I do: A Case For Greatness Ok, I think that's it. Be sure to check back tomorrow when I will post a link to the album in Rhapsody as soon as it is added. Enjoy!

Ok, Forget That Full Cup, Drink Some Of This!!!!!

Justin Rosolino - Wonderlust Ok, for all (3) of my readers out there who just didn't trust me enough last year when I went on and on and on and on and...well, you get the picture... about this one to go out and buy it yourself, your stubbornness has finally paid off. Damn you. Anyway, I was checking the New Releases listing in Rhapsody today and BAM! there's this fabulous album by my good friend, Justin Rosolino. Yeah, yeah, yeah, biased, biased, biased, blah, blah, blah. Well, now you have no excuse for not listening to this one. Now you can validate or discredit its 9th place finish in my "Most Worthy of 2004" list. And if you discredit it, I don't like you. At all. Stop reading my blog. I hope that all of you will give it at least 3 or 4 listens before drawing your long-term conclusions. It is a subtle album that does not wrestle your affections to the ground. Instead, it does what all great albums do... it slowly, assuredly earns them. While the catchy "Anyone" would fit in on just about any radio format, save the hip-hop/rap stations, it is the album's more delicate moments that are truly powerful... like the slowly building guitars and drums on the heartbreaking "Legacy," or Justin's angelic, breathtaking falsetto chorus on "Believe." Justin is one of the most talented musicians I have ever witnessed. His vocal range is enormous. His guitar skills are approaching godly (if you don't believe me after listening to "29," then you're nuts). His knowledge of music is astounding (who else can pull off something like "Stump Justin" at his shows where the crowd shouts out songs to try to find one that he cannot play). His songwriting skills are strong and strengthening by the day. And he is extremely intelligent, extremely kind, and extremely generous. Ok, enough gushing. Go listen to the album. Several times. See if you get it. If you're having a hard time, turn out the lights, turn up the music, close your eyes, and try again. It's worth it. Enjoy!

Thy Cup Overfloweth

Wow, quite a day for Rhapsody. If it weren't for damn Merge Records (Radar Bros. new one out today), they'd have just about every one of today's notable releases in the indie-ish world. Unfortunately we are still waiting around for Merge to get on the ball with other online music services besides the unfortunately omnipotent iTunes. So, I've got my playlist all set up to listen to these. Thought I'd post them out here first so all of you can get started listening and not waiting around for me to say a word or two about them. No particular order here but the first in the list is also the first in my listening list. Liking it a lot so far. Lots of hype around this band, but perhaps they'll actually live up to it! Enjoy!

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm The Decemberists - Picaresque Brendan Benson - The Alternative To Love Acetate - This Band Makes Me Feel Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze John Doe - Forever Hasn't Happened Yet Louis XIV - The Best Little Secrets Are Kept Edie Sedgwick - Her Love Is Real... But She Is Not Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak Of It Again M.I.A. - Arular Dishwalla - Dishwalla

Holy Crap!

Muse is playing Raleigh fuckin' North Cakalaky!!! And I, of course, am going to see them! Holy crap, Batman!

What's The Point?

Long-View - Mercury So how was that for a blogging vacation? I wish I could say that it was because I was also actually vacationing from work, but no such luck. Just been a terribly busy and tiring week which has left me little energy to put towards writing. I have a lot to say about the shows last weekend and I promise to get to that soon. In the meantime, I felt compelled to write about this album... Ok, so I don't really think of my site as a "review" site. I usually only choose to write about albums that I really enjoy and I don't think of myself as overly critical of music... ok, maybe I am towards some obvious targets, but usually I'm pretty open to what artists are trying to do. Well, this post is a little different. There is only one purpose of me writing about this one: WARNING: AVOID THIS ALBUM AT ALL COSTS. There you go. I just had to issue the warning before any of you either actually buy it or even click the "Play Now" button in Rhapsody. It's crap. Total crap. What a waste of time for the musicians, engineers, producers, record company (yes even a waste of time for the likes of Sony), record stores, the printing company, the CD pressing company. I'm thinking about suing the band for the reckless use of plastic, aluminum and paper and for the impending overuse of the landfills. It's really that bad. Definitely at the top of my list for Worst Albums of 2005 and I can't imagine anything out-crapping this one. Sure, there's a lot more crappy music out there (i.e. Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, Justin Guarini or however you spell his name, etc.) but I don't even listen to that stuff for it to make it onto any of my lists. This album is being pushed as an alternative album, the band is out of the UK (Manchester, even)... I should like it. And hey, I'm the guy who loves Keane even though many reviewers toss it aside as fluff... If you do like this music, let me tell you what else you like: Dawson's Creek (or any other cheesy teenager show that plays sappy bad music behind the last scene where someone ends up realize how difficult, yet beautiful life can be... and yes, I know that it is no longer on the air and it has been replaced by the O.C., but I can't knock a show that puts out such good soundtracks, even if they do miss their target audience), Applebee's, Light Beer (or maybe Mike's Hard Lemonade), the Gap, Hondas (or maybe even Saturns)... I think you know what I'm getting out. Nondescript, sappy for the sake of being sappy, extremely derivative and boring. It's almost offensive that they named their album "Mercury," the name of one of the many great American Music Club releases... Pointless.

My (Near) Future's So Bright....

Ash - Meltdown Well, this weekend is sure looking up. First, the Crimea is added to the Ash/The Bravery show for which I already had tickets since my Irish friend wanted to go. Now, the latest Ash disc gets released stateside and whaddya know? I like it! I've never really been an Ash fan, but I am totally enjoying this release. Not to say that I've been anti-Ash up to this point, I just have never really been drawn to their stuff before. But this album (and perhaps the easy access to it via Rhapsody) has changed that. What an interesting mix. In a nutshell they are like a hard rockin' metal-ish band during many of their verses, but then they somehow smoothy hit you with a sharp as hell pop-influenced hook in their choruses. On paper it sounds sorta simple, I guess. But when you hear it for yourself, you'll see how well they pull it off. It's like they get at your fist pumping, face scowling muscles and your heartstrings all at the same time. Now, you losers out there stop thinking Evanesence... that's not what I mean (If you like Evanesence you probably shouldn't be reading my blog anyway). Definitely more of an indie rock/pop feel rather than arena rock. It's gonna be one hell of a show, I bet. Loud, for sure. But a blast. Now I am really excited. Enjoy!

Stoned? Then Listen To This...

Kasabian - Kasabian We waited this long for this? Give me a break. Weak, weak, weak. "Club Foot" was a lie... all a lie. This band is nothing more than a lame party band for a party where everyone is sitting around getting high... I just don't get what they are trying to do here. They sorta sound like the trippy Stone Roses tracks... sorta... Not in a cool "Fool's Gold" kind of way, but just in a boring, shallow sort of way. Maybe I'll give it a few more listens to see if I get that "aha!" At this point, I just don't see it getting there. Perhaps you will enjoy! Not me.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Ok, the world had better notice this time that Glen Phillips is one of the best American songwriters to come along in a while. I have been listening to his new album (due out March 29th) over and over and each time something new grabs me. Just check out some of these lyrics:

though we all return to dust there's alot of us in a terrible rush --from "Courage" by Glen Phillips

Dang, ain't that the truth? I often wonder why I spend so much time working at a job that I don't really care for and always rushing around everywhere to get things done... We're all going to end up with the same earthly fate so what does it matter who's in first while we're here? And how about:

Everybody here's got a story to tell Everybody's been through their own hell There's nothing too special about getting hurt But getting over it, that takes the world --from "Duck and Cover" by Glen Phillips

Damn straight... And who has written a better love song than:

I was eighteen, so were you And I was that birkenstock, geek rock dude You were the backflip, doe eyed, tree climbing, earth mama beautiful evergreen girl And I never thought that I would be Getting my gray hairs with you beside me And there's something I'm blind to but you still see And it couldn't be better I know And it shouldn't be easier ohhh I should just stop waiting for the other boot to fall I want to be the toy in your cereal box I want to be Carter at your peace talks I want to get almost too familiar But still notice the way that you walk And if you said you were going away I would run on the tarmac and I would lay down in front of the plane just to get you to stay It couldn't be better I know I don't want it any easier ohh I should stop waiting for the other boot to fall I've got everything I've ever wanted here Everything and damn this constant fear Sure I'm gonna lose it all Just waiting for the other boot to fall If you thought I could be replaced I wouldn't just stop with an ear I would cut off my whole fucking face just to make my point clear That it couldn't be better I know And it shouldn't be easier ohh I should just stop waiting for the other boot to fall Waiting for the other boot to fall --"Easier" by Glen Phillips

Man, I would be so set if I could ever muster up words like that... My wife definitely deserves them and luckily I have people like Glen to lean on to help me express how I feel. He just has some sort of magical way of putting things in that "aha!" perspective. I've loved that song from the first time I heard him perform it live years ago and am so happy it is getting a proper studio version release. "Carter at your peace talks?" Who writes stuff that good?

I'm jagged rock you, waterfall your gentle touch you wear me down 'til I am smooth 'til I allow 'til I can bend 'til I can bow it's simple simple simple simply all I need I'm complication live wire down I'm agitation distorted sound and while I sleep I wanna forget everything these last years, take them from me wipe them away, I wanna be simple again --from "Simple" by Glen Phillips

Just an album full of fantastic songwriting and simply beautiful lyrics that are simultaneously very personal, cryptic at times, but yet can speak to you and put things in a new light for listeners... at least for me... Enjoy!

Well Pierce My Ears And Call Me Drafty!

Some of you may recall my mention of a band a while back I'd heard quite a few times on XM Radio station XMU, The Crimea. And, some of you may have picked up that I am going to the Ash/The Bravery show this coming Friday at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. Well, I was just checking the Cradle's show listing and surprise!! The Crimea have been added as the opener for the show! Rock on! Now I'm really excited for the show. I'm not really a fan of Ash and of course the verdict is still out on the Bravery who are already drowning in hype even though their debut album isn't out yet. So, now the night has much, much less potential for being a disappointment. Just need to make sure I get my friends motivated early enough to catch them. I've also found out that The Crimea's debut full length has been reworked and will finally see a US release date early this summer! Very cool. It will have 4 of the 5 tracks that appeared on their Lottery Winners on Acid EP to which I have provided links again below. I'll be sure to post my comments on the show next weekend. Enjoy!

WARNING: Long Gushing Post

Glen Phillips - Winter Pays For Summer The waiting is over. I'm finally listening to this one in its entirety. All 3 (or am I up to 4 now?) of my regular readers know that this guy is one of my all-time favorites and I have been anxiously awaiting this release for quite some time now. No, I'm not so special that I am now getting advance copies of CDs to review... don't hold your breath on that one... Actually, I was just out browsing around in Amazon and came upon their section of advance releases that allow you to listen to the albums early if you go ahead and purchase prior to the release date. And, lo and behold, there was Mr. Phillips and his exquisitely clad new album, Winter Pays For Summer. My love affair for the talent of Glen Phillips began back in 1990 when I was in a little, now-defunct record store in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was my senior year in high school there and I had a really good friend who had very similar eclectic tastes in music as I did. We would spend hours in that record store listening to new stuff that the "Guy-who-knew-everything-about-music" who worked there would play for us. We'd scour the tape and CD racks for new stuff that caught our eye. Great fun. Spent all of the money I earned bussing tables for the tourists on my music collection. Well, for my friend's 18th birthday I decided I was going to walk into the record store and buy the most bizarrely named band in the whole dang store. I looked and I looked. Came upon bands like "That Petrol Emotion" who's names were certainly bizarre, but we already knew them. I made it all the way down to the T's when I came upon a new CD by a band certainly not to be surpassed in the strange name category: Toad the Wet Sprocket. I definitely did not understand the name and was unfortunately not cool enough to place the origin. So, I bought it. The CD was Pale and I brought it with me to his birthday party. To make a long story not quite as long, the party was one of those "parents out of town" kind of things. We had a lot of fun. But, as the party was winding down, and the way-too-serious-relationships-for-18-year-olds found their way to the various corners of the house to have their deep, meaningful, teary, end-of-party discussions, I decided to play DJ. I yelled up to my friend that I was opening up my present to him I didn't hear a response back, but I opened it anyway and popped it into the CD player, turned it up, and then layed back on the floor. A little interesting piece of info here is that this night happened to be the first night I dropped my intense abstinence from alcohol and decided not to take life so seriously myself. So, I wouldn't say I was drunk, but a little tipsy. And when the first words out of Glen's mouth on the opening track "Torn" were "I feel nothing..." I nodded my head and said "Me either." What followed was a slow realization that I was listening to an album that would become my favorite album of all time. I remember my friend shouting down from upstairs, "Who is this? I love them!" Me too, my friend, me too. From that point on I became a fan, nearly a full-fledged fanatic. I saw them live some 13 times or so prior to their breakup in 1998 and even saw a reunion tour show a couple of years back. I've spent quite a bit of time talking with the band (even got a tour of their tour bus... haha) and have always been impressed with them musically and personally. I have many anecdotes that I could spend hours spouting on about, but I'll now get on to this album. When I heard the title announced a while back, I thought it so perfect. Glen's ride since the breakup of Toad hasn't exactly been all shits and giggles. I think he's spent a lot of time discovering his true personal music and perhaps even more time trying to figure out where in the music industry he could carve out a little solo space. He's often reflected on his website on the difficulties of the industry and predetermined expectations of his music. I think he was tired of being a hitmaker and wanted to explore new musical territory. Luckily, he eventually found his way to Lost Highway records who seems to be the perfect landing spot for the best singer-songwriters out there. Let's hope they do as good a job promoting Glen's album as they did with Tift Merritt's and Ryan Adams', among others. The music itself is still sinking in, but its a great mix of introspection and declaration. Glen's songwriting has become even sharper as he continues to peer deeper and deeper into his thoughts on life's curve balls, life's inexplicables, and his strong beliefs on equality, anti-commercialism, and his general "live and let live" mantra. With each listen, it is apparent that while Glen's music has become more singer-songwriter and less radio-friendly since leaving Toad, his talon's are still sharp and dig deep into your psyche and your heart. He is a subtle performer which is probably why so many critics have previously been able to overlook him. It takes a few listens to get beyond the initial general listenability of his music to truly uncover just how much of a chord Glen strikes... and how great an album he can put together. I imagine that with the tone of the music and Lost Highway as the label, we might even see CMT pick up a couple of the tracks... especially with Glen's association with Nickel Creek and the Mutual Admiration Society... But, I wouldn't say the album is country at all. It has moments of Americana, but I hear a lot of XTC, maybe a little 80's Peter Gabriel. Hard for me to make comparisons like that since I tend to put Glen in his own little box... Anyway, I'm loving it and am sure I will continue to love it for a long time. I'll stop with my silly gushing now. Back to our regularly scheduled program. Enjoy!

Falling in Love All Over Again

Doves - Some Cities Went out first thing yesterday morning and bought this CD (along with the new Mars Volta) as soon as I could. I am a huge fan of their previous work and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. And, luckily for all Rhapsody users, the album was added to the service sometime yesterday afternoon around 2pm. Anyway, I popped into my car CD player (which rocks) and thus began the slow process of falling deeply in love with yet another great album. And that's what the Doves always seem to release. Not a collection of songs, but an album. Not really concept albums, mind you, but solid, consistant, whole albums... devoid of filler tracks as well as poor song placement/transitions . While Some Cities doesn't deviate too dramatically from the established Doves sound on their two previous releases, it is decidedly less lush than The Last Broadcast... more direct, less fragile. But it completely works. The emotion flows even more intensely on this one as they amp it up in a few spots, with "Black and White Town" being more raucous than its cousin "There Goes the Fear," and a driving bass "drum" on "One of the Days," to drive the song home. There are some beautiful symphonic moments, such as "The Storm," and their underlying employment of more soul than any other Britpop band oozes on the near Motown "Walk in Fire," which if you removed the Doves' orchestration/instrumentation and had Otis Redding or someone similar perform the song, it would sound completely natural. I love this band. I love their unique sound. And I love that they continue to release great albums... no let downs thus far! Enjoy!

Don't Worry, This "The" Band Sounds Nothing Like The Strokes

The Autumns - The Autumns Here's another band who has been around awhile but just has never made my listening list. It's bizarre that I've never really noticed them before as they often draw references to the Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, and -- as Rhapsody describes them -- all channeled through Toad the Wet Sprocket (who my regular readers know is one of my all time favorite bands and in my opinion the band who's impact to the music of the 90's is totally underappreciated). I just noticed The Autumns latest release from September of last year was added to Rhapsody yesterday so I finally gave this band a listen and after a couple of times through, I have to say that I'm impressed. This one apparently has less of the Cocteau Twins sonic landscape than their previous albums and is a more organic affair. I think it is a very sweeping, emotional, epic release that I am still struggling to completely get my hands around. For the first 3 minutes of the opening track, "The End," you will probably think you should prepare yourself for another Coldplay-influenced album, full of pensive falsetto, meandering beautiful melodies, barely there harmonies, etc. But, don't hit stop just yet because it's at that point that you will be abruptly introduced into what will make this album different for you. In Radiohead-esque fashion, the track quickly changes from Chris Martin to Matt Bellamy. And luckily, lead singer Matthew Kelly has got some pipes. This disc doesn't stick to that formula on every track though. There are varying textures here with even two instrumental tracks featuring a string ensemble. You've got some straight ahead rock tunes such as "Every Sunday Sky" and perfect Brit-pop such as "Cattleya" which successfully mixes Coldplay piano and attitude, Cocteau Twins guitar, Toad harmonies, Muse soft-loud-soft, and just great pop songwriting. Turn it up so you're ready for the fuzzy bass that helps drive the track home. Awesome. And the disc closes out with the sprawlingly wonderful "Wonderfully Wonderful" and the sweet, offkilter, quirky, beautiful waltz, "Heatsick on the Open Sea," closing out what turns out to be quite a journey. Enjoy!