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May 1, 2006

201: The Music Issue

Well there - I've had 200 blog posts (though I'm not sure if it counts unposted false starts, which is probably around 5 or so).

Sweet. Welcome to the latest issue where I talk about the stuff I've been listening to as of late.

But first, in honor of the music, I present a photo my parents sent back from London. Lefty returned to Abbey Road on a far nicer day then when I had been there, and sends his greetings.

Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my Donkey....

Well - there's been some exceptionally good music to appear this year. The last couple of years have actually been very good - which makes me fear we're due for a boy band renaissance. (Shudder)

Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital

PGMG returns, and they most definitely do not disappoint. The new album builds on the frenzy of The New Romance. A little more spacey, and a little more focused on the female vocal. Standout track is "Parade" - a good ole' fashioned call to arms for the working person.

The Alphabetical Order - The Unimpeachable EP

Very rarely has a local band's music entered my regular iPod rotation. So many times, even the best local band's recorded material is average at best, and downright unlistenable at worst. TAO has the skill and polish of a band that's been playing for 10 years. These guys are actually playing the Black Cat tomorrow (to which I plan to attend, barring any computer related emergencies with Belle. Standout tracks are "Mere Space" - which could fit on any Failure album and "Krakow Krakow" - which is like the stepchild of Hum.

Finding these guys was a lucky accident - I auditioned to replace their guitarist in his old band, and I found them on Google. My jealousy for what these guys are doing is...frankly...beyond compare.

Tool 10,000 Days

OMG!!! NEW TOOL ALBUM!!!!! W00T!!!!

I've heard it. It comes out tomorrow. I'm going to Best Buy straight after class. It's a little more exploratory than previous works, if that's at all possible. It starts heavy with "Vicarious" & "Jambi" then shifts gears into a more droning, etheral feel for "Wings for Marie" and "10,000 Days". Then we come to the track that is the most like early Tool, and personally my favorite track (at the moment) "The Pot" - which calls back to Opiate & Undertow, but still has the progressive feel of Aenima and Lateralus. "Lipan Counting" and "Lost Keys (Blame Hoffman)" are really just segues, although "Lost Keys" leads straight into what is perhaps Tool's heaviest song - "Rosetta Stoned". "Intension" pulls the groove back down and leads into "Right In Two" which is fantastic. A much to form, 10,000 Days closes out with "Vigneti Tres" - which is little more than a Lou Reed inspired romp of sound.

The record is incrediable, and while somewhat of a departure - it is still definitely Tool. A band like this could've rested on what it's built thus far, and still have been way ahead of everyone else in the game. But they didn't, and the results are a fantastic journey.

Posted by MikeSager at May 1, 2006 8:30 PM

Comments

Posted by: VirginiaBelle at May 2, 2006 10:29 AM