2016

There were 136 posts published in 2016 (this is page 14 of 20).

Cosmic Thing

Frankie Cosmos – Next Thing

Contrary to one of the songs on her latest album, Frankie Cosmos is 22.  This is a fact that immediately made me feel quite old.  Because sure, I’m aware that there are lots of “people” making music that are considerably younger than me and are making a more than descent living doing it.  But for the most part, these are pop artists.  They make music that is certainly pleasurable to listening to, but doesn’t have much nuance or lyrical depth.  In addition to having pop-like pleasures, Frankie Cosmos’ music does have a fair amount of nuance and lyrical depth, but most of it pertains to the experiences of being both scared and in awe of what kind of possibilities are out there in this big beautiful, doomed world of ours.  Which is to say, it’s the kind of music that only a 22 year-old could make.  And once I came to that realization, I had no problem enjoying this album as much as I have.

“Intimate” is a word I would use to describe Frankie Cosmos’ music (or possibly “twee” if you want to be a little more condescending).  Not because there’s anything shockingly confessional about Greta Kline’s (Frankie Cosmos’ given name) lyrics, but more because she sounds like she’s constantly having some sort of dry, thoughtful conversation with her listeners.  Almost like you’re casually hanging out in Kline’s bedroom with her, as she rattles off different half-formed observations and puts them to these insatiable pop ditties.  Which may have to do with her originally developing her sound in the confines of her bedroom, recording and releasing songs on bandcamp for the past few years before finally stepping up to the indie big leagues (and a full band) with her last two releases.  Needless to say, her music always feels like a safe place.

But more than anything, this is just a really easy album to put on and listen to over and over again.  It’s already become the album of 2016 I’ve listened to the most by a pretty significant margin.  Some of it probably has to do with the fact that every track is around 1 or 2 minutes long, while Next Thing as a whole clocks in just shy of 29 minutes.  Some of it also probably has to do with the fact that these songs are quite catchy, but they don’t necessarily beat you over the head with their catchiness, which might have a bit to do with the slightly introverted nature of Greta Kline’s songs.  And for that, it’s an album that seems suitable for a lot of moods, and I can only assume it’ll get me through many more weird moods throughout this year.

Favorite Tracks: “Floated In”, “On The Lips”, “Sappho”

Welcome to the Jungle 2 Jungle Boogie

The Jungle Book

I have no nostalgia for The Jungle Book. Until a few weeks ago, I’d never seen the original animated film. I hadn’t read any of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book stories either. I like to think this gave me a unique perspective. There wasn’t going to be any candy colored nostalgia glasses over my eyes. Though this isn’t to say I was completely unfamiliar with the material. I did explore some of the Jungle Book universe or “Balooverse”—as I like to call it—before seeing Jon Favreau take the helm, but otherwise I was a stranger in a strange land. I wonder if I’m the first person to reference Iron Maiden in a Jungle Book review?

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Obsessong: Purple Rain

I don’t know where you are in your Prince grieving process, but if you’re like me, you’ve probably accepted by now that we are indeed living in a Prince-less world.  Which is not a better world by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it’s one where we still have his music (though it’d be nice if his music was a little more available on streaming services and whatnot).  Luckily, I have a handful of his albums in my iTunes, and even a couple in physical format, and have been revisiting them while also trying to enjoy whatever other Prince I can get my hands on. 

But right now, I’d say I’m in my “appreciation phase” of mourning.  It’s a phase I similarly went through with the recent death of David Bowie, where after the initial heartbreak of this monumental loss, I found myself going back through his discography and being in awe of just how many great songs he wrote and recorded.  And while there have been a fair number of songs that have popped up for me as being gems I’d never given their due (“Controversy” is one I’ve been majorly into), it’s become pretty apparent that the song “Purple Rain” is almost certainly Prince’s masterpiece.

Song: “Purple Rain” by Prince And The Revolution
Album: Purple Rain
Year: 1984
Written By: Prince Continue reading →

R.I.P. Prince

It was earlier this year, I found myself at a family gathering at my grandparents’ retirement home.  Now, I don’t think I’m unique in saying that family gatherings are not a place I typically want to be.  But my uncle and his family (who I hadn’t seen in over a decade) were visiting from Chicago, so I figured it was my obligation to be there.  Also, my grandparents are both in their 90s, and at this point who knows when they’re gonna go, so it was nice to be able to get all of my mom’s side of the family together, since who knows if this would ever happen again.  Anyways, over the course of the meal we were having, there was a bit of this underlying tension, since my other uncle on my mom’s side isn’t exactly a huge fan of the uncle who was visiting from Chicago.  Which is not surprising.  One of them is kind of out-there and a bit of a weirdo, while the other is an ultra-conservative former bodybuilder.  However, the two managed to be fairly polite with each other in conversation, while I nonetheless wanted to leave, but was more than aware of why it’d be incredibly rude if I did.

Fortunately, my inner music geek was called to attention late in the dinner, as my uncle from Chicago started recalling stories of his younger years when he was going to shows at First Avenue, Minneapolis’s legendary music venue.  Unsurprisingly, this led to him talking about the few encounters he had with a performer known the world over as Prince.  And being that I’ve been a Prince fan for a long time, as well as rock bands like Husker Du and The Replacements who around the same time played First Avenue’s Seventh Street Entrance (the venue’s smaller stage), I was more than intrigued by these stories.  But what I didn’t expect, was to hear my conservative uncle ask from across the table, “You’re a fan of Prince?”  To which my other uncle of course replied, “Yeah”.  And then my other uncle said something to the effect of, “I really like Prince.  He’s a really talented performer.”  And I felt it — a bond.  A bond between these two men that literally have nothing in common with each other besides their relation to my aunt.  And it was over Prince of all things.

With the announcement of Prince’s passing earlier today, I can’t help but think of this moment and why it is so emblematic of what made Prince such a special artist.  Prince was a guy who brought people together.  Whether you were black or white, straight or gay, or whether you could dance or not, it didn’t matter.  Once a song like “Let’s Go Crazy” or “1999” came on, if you weren’t shaking your ass, you were at least envisioning The Purple One shaking his ass all over some gigantic stage and wishing you were there in his glorious presence.  Which is why yes, it is incredibly sad that Prince is dead.  Much like David Bowie, he’s a guy who you’d think would live forever.  But at the same time, I’ve spent most of today listening to KEXP play nothing but non-stop Prince, and it’s impossible not to be put in a good mood by this music, or at least a better mood considering the circumstances.  He just had that power, and you could feel it no matter where you were coming from.

Stream Police Ep. 21: Fuller House

Whatever happened to predictability? It’s here on the latest episode of Stream Police! This week, Michael and John review the family-friendly/pathetic-nostalgia-cash-grab reboot Fuller House. Have those dudes still got it? Or have they in fact become rude? Listen to this week’s episode to find out! And please, have mercy.

Sky’s The Limit

Bob Mould – Patch The Sky

I was not expecting to enjoy this new Bob Mould album as much as I am.  Because look, I love Bob Mould.  He’s one of the all-timers.  But if I’m being honest, when I went to the record store I was mainly looking to pick up the new Tacocat album, but since I always feel weird only buying one thing when I go to any store, I figured I’d spend some money on the new Bob Mould.  Because he’s certainly a guy who I’ll support in whatever ways I can, though I wasn’t necessarily that excited to hear his 12th solo album.  Still, Mould’s been on a bit of a late-career roll lately with 2012’s Silver Age and 2014’s Beauty & Ruin, which saw one of the architects of alternative rock returning to the loud/melodic sound that he made his name on, and I think you could say Patch The Sky completes a kind of trilogy with these other two albums, and is probably my favorite of the bunch.

So why is it my favorite of these three albums?  Well, as I confessed to in my previous review, I made it clear that I am a big fan of hooks (because who isn’t?), and this is probably the album where Bob Mould leans into melody more than loudness, which I am all for.  It’s an album that reminds me a lot of Copper Blue, the debut release from Mould’s ’90s band Sugar, which is probably the most commercial thing he ever released, and one of the definitive alternative rock albums of that era.  Granted, there aren’t any breakout songs here on the level of a “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” or “Hoover Dam”, but I suppose you can only capture that kind of lighting in a bottle once, though Patch The Sky does a pretty great job of capturing that sound while having some of that bittersweetness that has managed to seep it’s way into this recent Mould albums.

“The War” from Beauty & Ruin probably best summed up this latest incarnation of Bob Mould as a solo artist, as it saw the singer/songwriter reflecting on having made it through the ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s as an artist with integrity, and having nothing to show for it but his voice.  Now, clearly he has much more to show for it than that, as he’s influenced so many bands that it’s a little mind-boggling.  But I think it did point out how amazing it is that he’s made it and survived and still remained fairly relevant when so many artists and bands of his generation have fallen by the wayside.  “Workmanlike” is a word I would’ve used to describe when I saw him live a couple years ago with bandmates Jon Wurster and Jason Narducy, since these are a bunch of guys who still know how to consistently throw everything they have into their music (despite all of them being 40+, they happen to rock really hard).  And when Bob Mould is still pushing himself to write really good songs the way he is on Patch The Sky, it’s just a pleasure to hear him and his bandmates work.

Favorite Tracks: “The End Of Things”, “Hold On”, “Black Confetti”