Here's a dirty little secret of mine: unless I really love the band, I'm not particularly crazy about live music. Considering that I played in a number of bands myself for the better part of a decade, that seems almost contradictory or, at the very least, anomalous. And yet it's the truth. If I have [...]
Tag: Music
Making Time
On Friday night, Vasudeva - hailing from New Jersey and one of my all-time favorite instrumental bands - played just a mile or two from where I live. It was great to get out to see them again, especially since the last time I saw them was about a year ago in New Jersey, when [...]
Cryptomnesia
There is a line in the Artifex Pereo song 'No Stranger to Worry' that reads, "Infatuated with a dark, looming end," which is not particularly eventful by itself. It's essentially a typical prog-rock lyric on what I consider to be a particularly excellent prog-rock album. I bring this up, though, because the phrasing and melody [...]
2011: Omissions
Back in February, I presented my comprehensive1 analysis of 2011's musical offerings and now, several months later, it occurs to me that a handful of discussion-worthy releases were unintentionally omitted. Three of those overlooked albums, however, I could not resist discussing, even if somewhat belatedly. In a zombie-esque move, Lydia returned (in an altered state) [...]
2011: One Man’s Take On the Year In Music
Acknowledging that we live an age of excess but also an age of brevity, I have this to say about the 2,000+ word article that lies ahead: it is too short. Alas that time has not been given to me to write a 10,000 word article concerning the intimate details of a dozen different albums. [...]
Better Late Than Never: The Music of 2010
Due to incessant public outcry1 at my not having written a "Top Ten Albums of 2010" blog, I've decided to sack up and, at this temporally inappropriate juncture, put together a series of one-line reviews for the handful of releases from which I derived some enjoyment in 2010, a year whose musical offerings didn't quite [...]
The Paradoxical Illusion of Artistic Control
It's strange. I wasn't sure that I believed it when I first truly contemplated it in an English class in college. But now I'm sure it's true. Try as they might, firm as their grasp may seem, no author, no creator, can completely control the content of their work. There was a time when I [...]
My Top 50 Albums: 2000-2009
My peers and I are in a conspicuous position when it comes to reviewing the past decade in music: we began high school and likely completed college all within the confines of the decade. High school and college. Those are your prime musical-attachment years. Regardless of whether or not you are capable of keeping an [...]
A Star Sign Out of Whack
Just a few short weeks ago, Third Eye Blind released their long-awaited fourth full-length album, Ursa Major. I was hoping to avoid reviewing this album until sometime around December or January, when I'll be posting my Top 10 Albums of 2009 article, but it seems that my hand has been forced. Frankly, I highly doubt [...]
When They Disappear, We’ll Know Why
Originally this was going to be a post about whether or not we are too hard on our musicians, whether we demand too much of them creatively while delivering not nearly enough support for their troubles, and in some respects I stayed true to that aim. But for the most part, I've let the first [...]
Songs & Stories 