John Mayer Trio - Vultures

A new post has been long overdue... but when I started this blog I decided I only was going to post when I was really excited about some music. And it happens that sometimes I just don't get excited about anything for a few months... I think that's ok, right?

Well, I'm really excited about this song and the album it's on. I hadn't even realized that John Mayer had started up a trio. This guy doesn't fail to surprise me. He seems to be going into a strong blues direction and he's doing it amazingly well (for a white guy ;) ). I had noticed some collaboration pieces with guitarists I listen to (John Scofield, Buddy Guy). Now, looking at the allmusic page about the Try album, he seems to have also done stuff with other great artists such as Clapton, Herbie Hancock and B.B.King. You don't get to play with these guys if you're a hack...

I think I listened to Vultures close to 10 times the other day. I just love it when a song grabs me that way :) I'm still fascinated by the guitar sound, the lyrics, the beat, the guitar solos... the word that always comes to my head is "tight." I've used it here before. Everything just seems to fit together so perfectly it's amazing.

I'm glad the allmusic review of the album is so positive. I was worried that I was just going thought a phase where anything could have impressed me. But it seems that at least one other person agrees with me :)

Good song, good album - check it out if any of the below apply to you:
- you like blues
- you like john mayer's albums
- you like the dave matthew's band's live recordings

Jack Johnson - On and On

I thought I was getting tired of Jack Johnson after listening to "Brushfire Fairytales" many times and noticing that his new album "In Between Dreams" didn't excite me much because it appeared to be just more of the same. Then my friend Jonathan gave me the On and On disc for Christmas and... it's sooo gooood...

I'm not sure if this disc is simply more original than "In Between Dreams" or whether I was just not in the right mood when I checked out the latter. But I just love playing these songs and jamming along on my electric guitar. Even though the chords and structure of the songs are really straightforward, there is something genuinely creative in these songs. I couldn't say exactly what it is. For one, I love the percussion on almost all the tracks. It's probably a main reason why I like Jack Johnson's stuff in general - I've always enjoyed good interesting rythms.

My current favourites off the disc are Taylor, Gone, Cookie Jar, and Rodeo Clowns. Examples of songs where I think the percussion is at it's best are Rodeo Clowns and The Horizon has been Defeated... sooo grooovy...

n e who - I doubt anyone reading this hasn't already listened to Jack Johnson, so recommending to check him out would be a waste of my typing (wait a second... how many words did I just type to say that?) - n e who... ;) I guess to put some true *value* into this post, I recommend completely disregarding the 3/5 star rating on allmusic.com. In my opinion this is a 4.5/5 star disc!

Lindy Videos

I really think Lindy needs to be promoted more (saw him opening for Tegan and Sara a while ago - see my old "Lindy" post). So that's what I'm doing here.

I just noticed today that he had some live performance videos posted on MSN Entertainment. They just confirmed my former beliefs that this guy is really underappreciated. I would expect to hear his songs on the radio and I don't understand why I haven't yet. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this.

So - can you do me a favour? Please check out the music at the following sites:

http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/Music/Orange/Lindy
http://lindymusic.com

and tell me what you think (click on "Comments" below)!

Even if you don't like it - I'd like to know why.

Thanks!

Lyrics Programs

I just found this little program a few minutes ago and I already love it! It automatically displays the lyrics for songs you're playing in your music player. The days of misheard lyrics are over!

http://www.evillabs.sk/evillyrics/

There are supposedly also other good lyics programs that I haven't checked out yet:

http://www.viewlyrics.com/
http://www.leoslyrics.com/winamp.php

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

Thanks Todd for reminding me to comment on this album! There is a lot to say about it. I've read a number of articles online about what all happened behind the scenes and I recommend anyone with interest in the music industry to do a little research on this album.

My favourite articles are the following:
- Allmusic.com's album review
- Rolling Stone interview with Fiona
- FreeFiona.com

It turns out there are two different versions of the album - the first was produced by Jon Brion (who also did When the Pawn) and the second by Mike Elizondo (who's known for his work with Eminem, 50 and many more). The CD you'll find in a music store is produced by Elizondo. But with a little effort you might be able to tickle the Brion version out of Mr. Interweb.

I downloaded the Brion version early this year and wasn't too excited at first. I liked the concept (lots of classical instruments and a fair share of dissonant tones) but it didn't strike me as something refreshingly new. Now recently when I heard the album was actually being released I started to listen to it again. And proving my inability to judge the quality of someone's work, I began to realize it was the some of the best music I've ever heard. People tell me they like beer because of the taste. I don't enjoy beer because I can't get over the taste which I interpret as bitter. But I agree that if I drank more beer I would probably learn to love it. It's not really "bitter" it just has a very strong unique character. It appears bitter to those unfamiliar with it. I think I've ranted about this before on this blog (oh right - Joanna Newsom!), but there's a lot to be said about things that give huge payoffs after investing some time in understanding them. Be it Joanna Newsom's voice, Jazz, beer, or Brion's version of Extraordinary Machine.

(Dear people with writing skills: I'm trying hard to impress you, but writing is not one of my talents. I hope I'm not appearing like an elephant in a tutu to you. If so, let me know and I'll take off the tutu and just write as the elephant that I am)

Elizondo's version of Extraordinary Machine is quite different. He uses less exotic instruments and comparably straightforward percussion, making the album more "accessible" to listeners - and quite frankly I think it sucks in comparison to Brion's version. At least for now. As I've learned, my opinion of albums changes over time. So I'm giving Elizondo's mix a second and probably even a third chance. Being the elitist snob that I am I doubt his work will satisfy my fine tastes. Mu ha ha ha...

Lyrics: I like them. She's good at writing stuff. I like listening to stuff that is well written. It is good. She's also funny.

...I don't understand about
Diamonds and why men buy them
What's so impressive about a diamond
Except the mining...

Or how about

I opened my eyes
While you were kissing me once more than once
And you looked as sincere as a dog
Just as sincere as a dog does,
When it's the food on your lips with which it's in love...

Hehehe... The remaining 90% is probably completely lost on me as an illiterate engineer/computer geek. Some of the words have more than 7 letters! What does she expect of me?

Final verdict: Go out and buy this album if you enjoyed her last two. If I can get myself to enjoy the Elizondo version (the one sold in stores) I might even do so myself.

Also - go to fiona-apple.com - click on Video - and check out all the clips available. I especially like the NYC Virgin Megastore live performances.