say a word for ginger brown

Lou Reed cursed my economics quiz.

I’ll admit, I was rather ill-prepared; hating economics also seems to make studying problematic.

The past week I’ve been on a Loaded kick, the Velvet Underground’s 1970 swan song. Industry legend Ahmet Ertegun supposedly requested that Lou and co. cut an album “loaded with hits” for their major-label debut on Atlantic, and the band delivered on the promise–despite the fact that drummer Moe Tucker was on maternity leave and major contributor John Cale was all but gone from the band at this point in their career.

“Oh! Sweet Nuthin’,” Loaded’s epic closer, is a 7-and-a-half minute pop masterpiece that sprawls and jars, easing you into peaceful, blissful oblivion. It’s a perfect song for a lazy weekend afternoon.

But not before a quiz.

Once my professor gave us the question, it was hard to feel unlike the song’s empty-handed characters: I ain’t got nuthin’ at all. At least the song’s subjects find some inner harmony in their nuthinness; I felt something more akin to a refined panic attack (can panic be refined? Oh yes, but it takes practice, my son).

Free yourself from all stressful obligations and place the needle carefully on your iPod hard drive and turn this mother out. As far as willful band-career-codas go, this is up there with “The End.”

The Velvet Underground – Oh! Sweet Nuthin’

(special thanks to Song By Toad for the tentative mp3 link.)

Death Blooms

What more can be said about the notion of “death” that hasn’t already been said. Things perish all the time. People die everyday. Relationships crumble and buildings fall. There is death everywhere we look. Not to be a “Negative Ned” about all this stuff though, it just that I find this notion of “death” so fascinating. Specifically, the theme of death within music. It’s just the coolest thing. I can stand happy music. If I hear one more Jack Johnson song about feet and turning the world upside down, I am going drop an anvil on my “bubbly toes” (Yeah that’s right, I said it). And it is probably because of where I currently stand in my life. I am a twenty-two year old who will be graduating college soon, and I have know idea where I’m going. I’m full of anxiety and questions unanswered, and I think that directly reflects my musical tastes. I enjoy music that can convey true emotion. We all latch onto those kinds of songs. They are the songs that live on forever within your psyche. So for the purposes of this blog, I focused in on songs that sound like death. Whether through their lyrical content, the music itself, or both, I believe these songs encapsulate the dismal emotions that we all feel, in a very beautiful, and in some cases, extremely abrasive way. Enough of my homily…listen to these tracks.

Ulver -What Happened?

This is a band out of Norway. This song is off of their most recent release Shadows Of The Sun. Years ago they were part of the raging black metal scene in Norway, but have since progressed into a dark and gloomy electronic force. The band members themselves are elusive, rarely give interviews, and never tour. I was blown away the first time I heard this song. It conveys an extremely depressing feeling, especially through the string section towards the end of the song. Overall, it is just a beautiful track.

http://www.mediafire.com/?9yntkokmpd9

Elliott Smith – Speed Trials

What more can be said about Elliott that hasn’t already been said. I have honestly only recently come to discover how good of a musician he is; his songwriting capabilities, his quiet, mournful vocal melodies, and his melancholic guitar playing all add to his gloomy aura. As a listener, you can really get a sense of how troubled he was when he was alive. Elliott was able to really pour his heart out for the listener, which is a gift many music fans don’t often get to receive.

http://www.mediafire.com/?o2ygctmjman

Imogen Heap – Rake It In

This song just really hits me. This is off of Imogen’s Heap’s first album, iMEGAPHONE. Much darker than her more recent material, the songs off of that album are fairly aggressive. I honestly feel a bit anxious when I hear this song.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jg0i3rzd9tt

Jeff Buckley – Dream Brother

Jeff Buckley is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard. There is no one else in music that comes close to sounding like him. Grace is one of the best albums of the 90s, and sadly, his only full-length release. There have been several releases of various b-sides and live cuts that he had recorded prior to his tragic drowning death in 1997. This song is quite eerie, definitely something to be listened to in the dark with a pair of headphones.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zvwicxpyrxm

Nine Inch Nails From the Truth

Hello, my name is Corey O’Brien(surreal07) and I’m bringing you straight music news and this is what I love doing. One of the most potent rock bands of our generation is taking rock supremacy to a new level. The rock band of Nine Inch Nails, NIN, have led its newest endeavor in the music recording industry with their new 2008 release. No, it does not have explicitly lyrics or does it have demonic meaning to make Tipper Gore and the FCC mad. Instead of using the now unreliable business of the recording industry, they released their newest studio album off their own website. This is in following of the most downloaded album last year by Radiohead. Maybe these two innovators of music have seen the light at the end of the tunnel for the music industry. And that light does not involve any industry.

In 2007, Radiohead released their new studio album on their own website for free download. It was and still is the most listened album on last.fm. This success has brought new life to the release of any studio album. About a month ago, NIN released their newest album named Ghosts. They released it off their own website in response to the depleting recording industry. Instead of just releasing the album free like Radiohead. NIN gave the loyal music fan options. One has five choices of download. First, a free download of nine tracks from the I-IV albums. Second is for a $5 dollar is all 36 tracks including a 40 page pdf file. Third is $10 for all tracks on 2 CD with a 16 page booklet. Fourth is worth $75 for all previous orders and a blue-ray dvd slide show for all four albums. Finally, the fifth option is worth $300. This option has already been sold out at 2,500 copies. That is alone $750,000 in revenue for the band. Maybe Trent Reznor, Lead singer, and NIN have found the new path for all record releases. All profit is transfered directly to the band. There are no more RIAA problems, no more questions of piracy, and no more discussion of illegal file sharing. The truth is that Trent Reznor and band like Radiohead are just becoming another playing field that the music industry will never reach. Even piracy websites with message boards are stating that they are paying instead of using the free download of the new NIN album. This is just to flip the bird to the recording industry even though they do not even like the music. It is great to see what geurilla media has effect on the music industry.

So maybe the truth is closer than we think to finding a convenient truth. But this time there is proof and no discussion for debate.
My musical artist pick for this week is an unsigned but very popular Jersey shore band, Your Sweet Uncertainty. After the break up of The Early November, YSR was born. Their debut release is nothing else but classic alternative punk at its finest. Hope you enjoy.

guilt to spill

The word “evangelism” carries a Christian connotation, as much as I’d prefer it not to for the purposes of this blog. Still, the disciples were pretty confident they were on to something special with their proselytizing–the news was good for a change, they said. We too believe our news is good, and we hope to convince you of this.

Our aims are true.

I can thank my lifelong Catholic education and upbringing for any shred of knowledge I have about early Christianity. I’m grateful for a few values along the line that I’ve been taught, and they weren’t always beaten into me with a ruler to my knuckles. Forgiveness, for example. This is what they teach you after you are given a swift, wholesome, passive-aggressive beating.

There’s one thing I will never forgive Catholic upbringing for, though, and it doesn’t involve sore knuckles. It was never taught outright. It was something subtle yet sinister–kind of like that mom from “The Sixth Sense” who was pouring floor cleaner in her daughter’s daily soup to keep her sick, unbeknownst to everyone else in the family. It is a terminal illness.

It’s the Catholic Guilt Complex.

No, that’s not the name of Loyola’s new sports and recreation facilities(!!!). It doesn’t matter whether you’re practicing or not–the ‘good’ Catholics are not spared, though they have a decent chance of believing the guilt is a blessing rather than a curse. The guilt is psychologically paralyzing, emotionally crippling. Every action with a hint of ‘moral’ implications will be questioned, and actions with no such implications in the first place will be given implications, and you’ll damn well like it, yes sirree.

(Did I just say damn? I just said damn.)

Your ‘impure’ thoughts, they seemed natural at the time. But make no mistake, you sleazy sinning scalawag good-for-nothing sociopath–you’re gonna pay. Maybe not in this life. But let this be your warning.

Its presence tends to cloud the room in particular whenever I wake up late Sunday morning–you missed Mass for the 23rd consecutive week, you delinquent, wayward waste of space. By the way, remember how you forgot to thank so-and-so for blah blah blah? Hoooo-WEEE, mmhmm, you blew it. And how you have no idea what you’re doing with your life and you’re a helpless hopeless godless spineless speck of nothing? Apparently you didn’t, judging by the fact that you’re now sobbing uncontrollably into your pillow.

Harboring this guilt is a 24-hour-a-day job. The positive thing about this job? You share the daily grind with hundreds of millions of co-workers, and some of them are pretty good at complaining about the job. And as meaningless as the grievances often are, sometimes it’s all you have to get you through the day. Here are a few of the more articulate complainers.

Click here to get the songs for “guilt to spill.” If you’re unsure about how to obtain them, see the February 20th post for instructions.

The Hold Steady – How A Resurrection Really Feels

The final track from their 2005 semi-concept album “Separation Sunday” is laced with sinful and regretful characters; this one deals with a Prodigal Daughter-type named Holly (short for “Hallelujah”) who takes it upon herself to storm the Easter Mass pulpit and air her grievances. The end product is pretty sweeping, with bar-rocking pianos and horns that elevate Holly to the heavens, sins or no.

The Thermals – A Pillar of Salt

“We were born to sin,” singer Hutch Harris emotes with his seething nasal talk-sing delivery. “And now we gotta run/A giant fist is out to crush us.” The Sodom-and- Gomorrah-referencing song moves along at a furious punk pace, daring you to look back at the two cities’ destruction as you run. Their excellent 2006 full-length “The Body The Blood The Machine” contains a chunk of sneering Church commentary that would make Martin Luther blush. He got 95 theses but this song ain’t one.

Madonna – Like A Prayer

Dealing with guilt the only way she knows how: pure, unadulterated sacrilege.

 

our mission

Someone once said “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” It’s a cliche by now and it really hasn’t stopped anyone from music writing. Still, its point looms large: how can you possibly attempt to explain a song so infinite, personal, visceral? It’s like someone explaining why a certain joke is funny after the fact, sapping the timeliness, delivery and brilliance that made everyone laugh in the first place.

So why are we taking the path of the dancers?

Music was meant to be shared. It can be as personal as Romeo singing up to Juliet or John Sophomore trying to woo Jane Freshman with acoustic Dave Matthews. It can be as communal and social as thousands holding up lighters at a Journey amphitheater concert or dozens singing along in a dank basement to the local punk band. It can be as impersonal as laying down, putting on your headphones and listening to Blood on the Tracks. Whether you’re sharing the experience with a loved one, friend, hundreds of people you don’t know or just the artist through magnets and wires, music is about shared humanity.

By writing about the music we hold dear, we hope to continue this relationship of sharing. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, we are able to tell you about this music while you listen along.

So pardon us while we waltz to the tune of Frank Lloyd Wright.

GUIDELINES

Each post will contain a batch of one or a few songs that come together as a zip file. In order to access these, you must have the latest (free) WinZIP or WinRAR program (I recommend WinRAR), which you can download here. Many PCs already come with WinZIP.

When we present a download link, it will be to a third-party site that hosts our files. Click on the link and then click “Download” on the new page. A screen will pop up asking you what you want to do with the new file. Choose “Open With: WinRAR (or WinZIP).” Your download will begin; when it finishes, a WinRAR screen will appear. Highlight the folder name you just downloaded and go to the top bar and click “Extract To.” Dig up your music folder and highlight it, click “OK” and let the files extract. When it’s all done, you’re ready to play–I promise it’s much easier than it sounds in print.

Note: all mp3s are for evaluation purposes only. Files will be available for a short time and deleted, or deleted by request.