have you listened to an album you've played over and over but realized you've never actually heard it until right then? thats how i felt last night about kevin devine's sophomore album, "make the clocks move."
i was given this album a few years ago by a friend, and i listened to it, but i didnt really pay attention to what i was listening to. i was just getting into kev's stuff, and was kind of bombarded, so i consumed as much as i could, but didnt actually absorb much of what i was taking in.
obviously, there are songs on the album that stood out to me right away, and those are the ones that i actually paid any mind to. ballgame, tapdance and the longer that im out here are the three big ones, for sure, as i believe to be the case with most of kevin's fans. but listening to the album last night, (i picked up the re-issue at the bad books show last night, and i wont lie, it was mostly to read the new liner notes by kevin and by jesse lacey) i picked up lines on that album that id never really noticed before, but that are so applicable to my little life seven years after they were written.
kevin says in the liner notes that its hard for him to remember going back that far. he says, "thinking back to then feels like trying on someone else's skin...it's hard to remember what it felt like being me." while it may be hard for him to think back on the person that wrote those lyrics, some of them hit home with me more today than they ever would have in 2003.
the song "youre my incentive" starts off with your bearings are shot and your car dont run like she used to/your friends dont call and they dont even bother with offering excuses/your tv is on but its always on so its useless/just the awful news and the sorry truth that were definitely sinking.
the whole album is full of lines that i feel like could have been written by me right now. there are, however, plenty of lyrics that im pretty sure will never pertain to my life, as kevin's lifestyle choices at that time and mine are fairly different.
anyway, i encourage you to pull out some stuff you havent listened to in a while and give it a spin again, this time with a fresh set of ears. you might find that you've overlooked something, too.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
so what am i supposed to do?...
anytime kevin devine is involved, it becomes less of a show and more like a weird family reunion for me. i love going to the shows and seeing all of my concert family, and of course i love to sing and dance along with the band. tonight was no exception.
bad books is, as you should know by now, a side-project mash up band consisting of members of both manchester orchestra and kevin devine and the goddamn band. the entire night was basically side-project and mash-up acts. hardello (hardy from dead confederate) opened up the night, with a less than entertaining set. there were more than a few times that i literally cringed at his voice. now, i know that i have no talent when it comes to singing, but that is exactly why i don't get on stage and pretend that i do. the best part of the hardello set was that it was only a few songs long, and wasn't a drawn-out torture.
gobotron is the side project of robert mcdowell of manchester orchestra, and was so much fun to watch on stage. kevin and a few of the other guys helped him out up there, and they meshed very well together. gobotron is an electric side project, and are a very dancy band, for sure. the song that stood out the most for me was the cover of "fuck & run" by liz phair.
right away, great captain, was next, and to be honest, i didn't watch much of his set. the phils game was on in the bar and we went to hang out there for a while instead. when we came back into the stage area, it was really dark, and it was just andy on stage, as it should be for this particular project. it must have been about half-way through his slur of songs, and after he ended the song, the audience clapped. he then asked the crowd to not clap until the end...something to do with manifesting his insecurities. it was strange and very much reminded us of something jesse lacey would say/do, and at that point, i was completely lost to what was happening on stage, and sat on the floor with some people to talk about jesse lacey instead.
after that, it was time for the reason we were all there...to see bad books! the CD hasn't even been around long enough for me to bother with titles, so i cant give you a very good set list, but i know that they did get to most of the songs on the album, most notably for me were mesa, AZ and please move.
kevin and andy are very good friends, which is why this project began in the first place, and that was so evident tonight on that stage. the banter between the two of them was just plain silly. it was full of a lot of inside jokes between them, but they shared in such a way that we could all get a good laugh out of what was going on as well. there was more than one moment that i caught myself wiping tears from my eyes because i was laughing so hard that i was crying.
the encore, which wasn't a true encore as the band never left the stage, consisted of some back and forth between kevin songs and man o songs. it was so much fun to hear those songs at the end of the night (and made the sting of the phillies loss to san fran a little less harsh) and the crowd really got into the songs. the encore went "just stay" (kd), "now that you're home" (mo), "cotton crush" (kd) and then i believe there was one more manchester orchestra song, but i hit my head really hard on the ceiling, so i dont remember. :(
i spent a little bit of money at the merch table (mostly because i love to bother almquist) and was able to pick up the bad books album on vinyl (its really pretty...red.) and the reissue of make the clocks move by kevin devine on CD. i broke a cardinal rule of concert-going, and we listened to my new kevin disk on the way home from the show. oh well.
anyway, pictures? sure thing...
(i cant wait until i get my new camera.)
bad books is, as you should know by now, a side-project mash up band consisting of members of both manchester orchestra and kevin devine and the goddamn band. the entire night was basically side-project and mash-up acts. hardello (hardy from dead confederate) opened up the night, with a less than entertaining set. there were more than a few times that i literally cringed at his voice. now, i know that i have no talent when it comes to singing, but that is exactly why i don't get on stage and pretend that i do. the best part of the hardello set was that it was only a few songs long, and wasn't a drawn-out torture.
gobotron is the side project of robert mcdowell of manchester orchestra, and was so much fun to watch on stage. kevin and a few of the other guys helped him out up there, and they meshed very well together. gobotron is an electric side project, and are a very dancy band, for sure. the song that stood out the most for me was the cover of "fuck & run" by liz phair.
right away, great captain, was next, and to be honest, i didn't watch much of his set. the phils game was on in the bar and we went to hang out there for a while instead. when we came back into the stage area, it was really dark, and it was just andy on stage, as it should be for this particular project. it must have been about half-way through his slur of songs, and after he ended the song, the audience clapped. he then asked the crowd to not clap until the end...something to do with manifesting his insecurities. it was strange and very much reminded us of something jesse lacey would say/do, and at that point, i was completely lost to what was happening on stage, and sat on the floor with some people to talk about jesse lacey instead.
after that, it was time for the reason we were all there...to see bad books! the CD hasn't even been around long enough for me to bother with titles, so i cant give you a very good set list, but i know that they did get to most of the songs on the album, most notably for me were mesa, AZ and please move.
kevin and andy are very good friends, which is why this project began in the first place, and that was so evident tonight on that stage. the banter between the two of them was just plain silly. it was full of a lot of inside jokes between them, but they shared in such a way that we could all get a good laugh out of what was going on as well. there was more than one moment that i caught myself wiping tears from my eyes because i was laughing so hard that i was crying.
the encore, which wasn't a true encore as the band never left the stage, consisted of some back and forth between kevin songs and man o songs. it was so much fun to hear those songs at the end of the night (and made the sting of the phillies loss to san fran a little less harsh) and the crowd really got into the songs. the encore went "just stay" (kd), "now that you're home" (mo), "cotton crush" (kd) and then i believe there was one more manchester orchestra song, but i hit my head really hard on the ceiling, so i dont remember. :(
i spent a little bit of money at the merch table (mostly because i love to bother almquist) and was able to pick up the bad books album on vinyl (its really pretty...red.) and the reissue of make the clocks move by kevin devine on CD. i broke a cardinal rule of concert-going, and we listened to my new kevin disk on the way home from the show. oh well.
anyway, pictures? sure thing...
Sunday, October 17, 2010
i tried to be the best but there's no proof....
when i first caught wind that two of my favorite musical acts were joining forces on a collaboration, i thought for sure this would be the new album id been waiting for my entire life. kevin devine and manchester orchestra are good friends, touring buddies, and jam together a lot on stage, so i figured this album would be absolutely flawless.
i set the bar too high. I've given listen to the new album several times now. its not terrible, it just doesn't grab me the way i hoped that it would. there are some songs on this album that I'm in love with, and then others that are completely forgettable.
i LOVED the song "please move" from the second i heard it streaming on their myspace page. the opening rifts remind me of manchester orchestra's "shake it out" to the point that i start singing those lyrics, but i think the familiarity of the song is what made me fall for it so hard. while this album probably wont make my aoty list, that song will definitely be tops on my soty list.
"the easy mark and the old maid" is really growing on me, as well. its got a lot of kevin devine's sensibilities to it, and that makes me really pay attention.
the opening track "how this all ends" bores me. i hate saying anything negative about these guys, because i really love all of them, but that song really does nothing for me. well, the chorus is pretty good, but overall, that is high on my list of forgettable songs from this album.
i have a feeling that as i listen to this album more and more, it will definitely grow on me, but i was really hoping for something that i was going to fall in love with instantly, and this just wasn't that album for me.
they are playing a show next saturday night that I'm going to see, so maybe after seeing these songs live, ill have a better opinion of the album.
regardless, ill still be first in line to buy the vinyl.
i set the bar too high. I've given listen to the new album several times now. its not terrible, it just doesn't grab me the way i hoped that it would. there are some songs on this album that I'm in love with, and then others that are completely forgettable.
i LOVED the song "please move" from the second i heard it streaming on their myspace page. the opening rifts remind me of manchester orchestra's "shake it out" to the point that i start singing those lyrics, but i think the familiarity of the song is what made me fall for it so hard. while this album probably wont make my aoty list, that song will definitely be tops on my soty list.
"the easy mark and the old maid" is really growing on me, as well. its got a lot of kevin devine's sensibilities to it, and that makes me really pay attention.
the opening track "how this all ends" bores me. i hate saying anything negative about these guys, because i really love all of them, but that song really does nothing for me. well, the chorus is pretty good, but overall, that is high on my list of forgettable songs from this album.
i have a feeling that as i listen to this album more and more, it will definitely grow on me, but i was really hoping for something that i was going to fall in love with instantly, and this just wasn't that album for me.
they are playing a show next saturday night that I'm going to see, so maybe after seeing these songs live, ill have a better opinion of the album.
regardless, ill still be first in line to buy the vinyl.
baby, id be crazy not to...
tonight i headed up to prospectors in mt. laurel to see danny gokey perform. a friend of mine told me about this show a few weeks ago, and even at the 30 dollar ticket charge, i knew that this was something i could not miss. even though i ended up having to go alone, it was still absolutely the right choice.
even though there was a huge line ahead of me, i was able to get a spot front and center for the show. the opening act was liv devine. she had a really great voice, and she was a lot of fun to watch. sometimes opening act can be a drag because no one cares much and neither does the band, but this girl and her band really had a lot of fun.
danny and the boys finally came on around nine thirty. their set was one of the most energetic, uplifting and downright fun things ive ever been witness to. i had a huge smile on my face from the first chord to the last note, and i think the same can be said for everyone in that room, band included.
the set list:
like thats a bad thing
life on ya
be somebody
tiny life
what hurts the most (rascal flatts cover)
get away
hard to handle (black crows cover)
i will not say goodbye
its only
i still believe
crazy not to
back at one (brian mcknight cover)
raining on sunday (keith urban cover)
t-r-o-u-b-l-e (travis tritt cover)
my best days are ahead of me
life is a highway (tom cochrane cover)
livin on a prayer (bon jovi cover)
there were some pretty emotional times during the set, because, lets face it, a lot of the reason danny got to where he is is because his story is so touching, and he hasnt forgotten that, but there were some rockin' all out good times, too, for sure. the last three songs were just silly because they were so much fun. danny is an entertainer, for definite, and its obvious those boys all love what they do up there on that stage.
his single "my best days are ahead of me" came out right before my 30th birthday, and i really kind of adopted it as my own for this year, and so far, its done me well. danny has such a positive attitude about everything, and it is really refreshing to go out and have a good time and be around such positivity as opposed to the stuff that usually go see.
i will absolutely be seeing danny again. ive been a fan since his audition on season 8, and ill be a fan of that man until the end.
even though there was a huge line ahead of me, i was able to get a spot front and center for the show. the opening act was liv devine. she had a really great voice, and she was a lot of fun to watch. sometimes opening act can be a drag because no one cares much and neither does the band, but this girl and her band really had a lot of fun.
danny and the boys finally came on around nine thirty. their set was one of the most energetic, uplifting and downright fun things ive ever been witness to. i had a huge smile on my face from the first chord to the last note, and i think the same can be said for everyone in that room, band included.
the set list:
like thats a bad thing
life on ya
be somebody
tiny life
what hurts the most (rascal flatts cover)
get away
hard to handle (black crows cover)
i will not say goodbye
its only
i still believe
crazy not to
back at one (brian mcknight cover)
raining on sunday (keith urban cover)
t-r-o-u-b-l-e (travis tritt cover)
my best days are ahead of me
life is a highway (tom cochrane cover)
livin on a prayer (bon jovi cover)
there were some pretty emotional times during the set, because, lets face it, a lot of the reason danny got to where he is is because his story is so touching, and he hasnt forgotten that, but there were some rockin' all out good times, too, for sure. the last three songs were just silly because they were so much fun. danny is an entertainer, for definite, and its obvious those boys all love what they do up there on that stage.
his single "my best days are ahead of me" came out right before my 30th birthday, and i really kind of adopted it as my own for this year, and so far, its done me well. danny has such a positive attitude about everything, and it is really refreshing to go out and have a good time and be around such positivity as opposed to the stuff that usually go see.
i will absolutely be seeing danny again. ive been a fan since his audition on season 8, and ill be a fan of that man until the end.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
in a hand-me-down wedding dress...
when i first started driving and traveling, i tired very quickly of lugging at first cassettes and later Cd's around. for the longest time, i said that i wished i could have something to take all of my music on in fell swoop, so that i didn't have to waste arm-space on a book full of tapes or Cd's.
the ipod/mp3 player should have been my invention.
I've had my ipod for nearly four years now. due to the great computer crash & burn of 2008, i haven't been able to update it since then, for fear of losing some of the stuff on there that i couldn't track down again of which i had no other copy. the other night, though, i finally sucked it up and decided that i was going to attempt to get the stuff from my ipod onto the new computer, because dammit, i wanted to use my ipod again. there was still a lot of stuff on there that i really loved listening to, but id say at least half of it was crap that i just didn't listen to anymore, and that id skip every time it popped up...not to mention the stuff that i downright hated and wanted very badly to delete.
after attempting several different methods that came up when i googled "move music back to computer from ipod" i found a program that was a pain in the ass to use, but that gave me the results that i was looking for...i was able to save the stuff that i didn't want to lose, and add new stuff, so that my ipod became usable once again.
so, what am i currently listening to on my newly refreshed ipod, you ask? well, that's a good question.
the song that is currently on is "guernica" by brand new. deja entendu was something that i was definitely keeping around, you know?
some newer stuff?
the arcade fire~the suburbs (people aren't really too sure about this album, as far as i can tell, but i love what I've heard.)
jenny and johnny~I'm having fun now (I'm still going ape shit for this record. i don't see anything knocking this out of my #1 spot for aoty.)
the boxer rebellion~union (while this isn't exactly a NEW album, its new to me. i missed a lot of the story line of "going the distance" when this band was playing because i knew it was love at first listen.)
also, i recently got my hands on a few Iron & Wine disks...the forbidden demos and home recordings. i really love home recordings because i already knew and loved most of the songs, but theres something so charming about the stuff on the forbidden demos. both are definitely worth taking a look at.
anyway, what is new on your ipod?
the ipod/mp3 player should have been my invention.
I've had my ipod for nearly four years now. due to the great computer crash & burn of 2008, i haven't been able to update it since then, for fear of losing some of the stuff on there that i couldn't track down again of which i had no other copy. the other night, though, i finally sucked it up and decided that i was going to attempt to get the stuff from my ipod onto the new computer, because dammit, i wanted to use my ipod again. there was still a lot of stuff on there that i really loved listening to, but id say at least half of it was crap that i just didn't listen to anymore, and that id skip every time it popped up...not to mention the stuff that i downright hated and wanted very badly to delete.
after attempting several different methods that came up when i googled "move music back to computer from ipod" i found a program that was a pain in the ass to use, but that gave me the results that i was looking for...i was able to save the stuff that i didn't want to lose, and add new stuff, so that my ipod became usable once again.
so, what am i currently listening to on my newly refreshed ipod, you ask? well, that's a good question.
the song that is currently on is "guernica" by brand new. deja entendu was something that i was definitely keeping around, you know?
some newer stuff?
the arcade fire~the suburbs (people aren't really too sure about this album, as far as i can tell, but i love what I've heard.)
jenny and johnny~I'm having fun now (I'm still going ape shit for this record. i don't see anything knocking this out of my #1 spot for aoty.)
the boxer rebellion~union (while this isn't exactly a NEW album, its new to me. i missed a lot of the story line of "going the distance" when this band was playing because i knew it was love at first listen.)
also, i recently got my hands on a few Iron & Wine disks...the forbidden demos and home recordings. i really love home recordings because i already knew and loved most of the songs, but theres something so charming about the stuff on the forbidden demos. both are definitely worth taking a look at.
anyway, what is new on your ipod?
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