I've figured out part of my current problem and come to the conclusion that one reason I'm not able to listen to much new music these days (and hence am not writing much about it) is because my iPod is way too small. I only have a Nano, which barely holds 400 songs, and so I'm constantly listening to the same stuff over and over. I feel like my musical field of vision is getting progressively narrower and I don't like it.

     Now, it's not that I don't put new music on it fairly frequently, it's just that in order to add to it, I have to take stuff off. The trouble is, there's some music I like so much that I don't want to take it off, which means that the space available from the stuff I rotate on and off is rather limited.

     All that to say, if I had a bigger iPod, I could keep a lot more music in my active listening queue and therefore I could listen to a lot more of it.

     Despite my limitations in both time and space, I did manage to listen to some new stuff this week and I really liked a few songs. Liked them enough to give them a coveted spot on the old Nano!

Mr. Gnome--"Vampires" mp3 off Heave Yer Skeleton (buy) Mr. Gnome is a spooky cool duo from Cleveland (my home town, don'tcha know). Nicole Barille, the vocalist, has a very distinct voice and she uses it to great effect. This is off their second album, which came out Nov. 10th.

Heather Greene--"Moon Hangs Fire" mp3 off Sweet Otherwise (buy) This is a beautiful song, pure and simple. I don't know much about her other than she's from New York, she's pretty and this is her second album, which came out Oct. 6th.

Hawksley Workman--"Maniacs" mp3 off For Him and the Girls (buy) This caught my ear immediately. The press release said something about yodeling, which turned me off when I read it, but upon hearing it, it's really good. I'm very interested in the rest of the album, which comes out Nov. 17th.

p.s. I used to have a much bigger iPod, but it met a very sad end when I got it wet and it died. Sigh. Maybe Santa will bring me a shiny new one that holds many, many more gig. I guess I'd better start writing my "I've been a good girl" letter ASAP.

     I know I've been seriously negligent here at the blog and I apologize for my neglect. My only excuse is that I'm too busy. Too busy to listen to much new music, let alone write about it. I'm even too busy to think of non-music-related stuff to post.

     And it's not like I have anything extra interesting going on that's keeping me so tied up. It's just work. Work and life. In the past, no matter how busy I was, in the back of my head I was always formulating something to say. But these days I'm not even processing thoughts on a back-burner level. I'm afraid I feel pretty much tapped out.

     It makes me kind of sad, because I used to be so reliable. I used to have so many ideas that I could hardly keep up, but these days they're just not flowing. I'm not calling it quits, mind you. In fact I just paid the yearly fee to keep my blog up and running, so I won't be disappearing, but I can't promise anything resembling regular posting.

Grizzly Bear--"Disappearing Act (Ariel Pink)" mp3 off Horn of Plenty (The Remixes) (buy)

     I always wondered what "RIYL" stood for and finally decided to look it up. I always tried to make it mean "right up your alley," but I knew that wasn't right. Well, it means "recommended if you like," which makes a lot more sense!

     That's not to say I'll be using it much, mainly because I'm really bad at making those kinds of associations between bands, but at least now I understand what it means when other people use it. God bless google.

     Anyhow, I just got Bend Sinister's latest CD in the mail and as I was listening to it, several thoughts/comparisons came to mind. At first I thought, Hey, this singer sounds like Burton Cummings, he of The Guess Who and songs like "Undun." You hear it, right? Then during another song I thought that the guitars sounded reminiscent of "Killer Queen"-era Queen, lots of up and down the scales and close harmonies, etc. Then when lead singer Dan Moxon started to sing, I thought, Holy Crap! He sounds like the love child of Burton Cummings and Freddie Mercury! Indeed, that is exactly what I thought.

     So there you have it. Bend Sinister is RIYL the old-school vocals of The Guess Who and blazing guitars of Queen, with some great piano playing thrown in. They have an lively retro feel to their guitars and a sharp, full band sound that really rocks, plus the singer has got quite a range. They're from Vancouver, Canada, and I hope you enjoy them.

Bend Sinister--"Jimmy Brown" mp3 off Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers (buy)

p.s. I forgot to say Happy Halloween!

     This feeling has been percolating for a long time. I'm not even sure where to start, to tell you the truth. It has to do with letting go, I guess, at the heart of it. Letting go of a child, letting go of my hopes of how things might be, and letting go of my own regrets.

     I suppose I'm going through this a little prematurely, as he won't leave for college until next fall, but it's really hitting me hard right now that soon my son will be gone away and I won't see him very much anymore. On the flip side, it's not as though I haven't known this was coming, either. It's a very weird, conflicted process.

     Tied up in the process is my own guilt, for lack of a better word, of leaving my own mother behind. Not that it wasn't expected of me--or of any child as they reach adulthood--but I did it quite easily and didn't look back. I loved my mom, we got along pretty well, but at the same time I was ready to go and away I went. In fact, once I left for college, all told I only lived at home for two summers before I got married.

     I didn't feel bad about it at the time, but now that I'm going through it and can empathize a bit more with what she might have been going through, I feel sad about it. I wish I'd spent more time with her, not been so eager to get out on my own and live so far away. Unfortunately, the thing about time is that you can't get it back, no matter how badly you might wish you could, and so I'm left with my regrets. 

     And now I know my son is mentally preparing himself to leave the nest and that he's not thinking about how I will miss him when he's gone--which of course he shouldn't be, either. I mean, I know that's the way it's supposed to be, I really do! It is primarily what we do as parents, prepare them to be independent and to be able to take care of themselves. I'm just already sad about it because I know what I'm in for.

Foy Vance--"Homebird" mp3 off Watermelon Oranges (buy)

All Smiles--"Our Final Roles as Birds" mp3 Oh For the Getting and Not Letting Go (buy)

p.s. My older daughter went away to school a year ago but it's different with her, as she is much closer to home than he is planning to be and hence doesn't seem far away, either physically or emotionally.  My son is another animal entirely. The nearest school he's considering is eight hours away by car.

     I was at the gym yesterday, watching the TV, and I learned that in 1900, a person's life expectancy was only 47 years. Let me tell you, people, that is young, very very young. Today it's up to 78, which is still young, actually, but when I saw that number 47, it hit me something hard.

     Back in the day, you were most likely to die from infection, childbirth or an accident. Today it's cancer, heart disease or dementia. I like to think that I'll just die peacefully of some natural cause, like old age, but I suppose that's wishful thinking. It'll probably be cancer or heart disease, as both run in my family. Dementia, not so much, so that's good. Although if you die of some form of dementia, maybe you wouldn't know you were dying, so that might actually be better!

     How did I stumble upon this information? Well, I find that my television choices are very limited at the gym, as stupid fricking comcast has decided that you have to have a special box to be able to view MSNBC, which is my news channel of choice. CNN is my second pick, but they are often so inane as to be unwatchable. FOX still comes in, of course, but I'd rather die of dementia than have to watch that.

     What I'm left with, then, is C-SPAN, which is actually quite informative, especially in the morning when they have an expert on who takes calls and discusses subjects in depth. Yesterday it was the cost of end-of-life medical care, which led to the statistics I quoted above, and hence my realization that had I lived a hundred years ago, I'd probably already be dead.

The Danks--"Die Young" mp3 off Are You Afraid of the Danks (buy)

Jeremy Enigk--"Life's Too Short" mp3 off OK Bear (buy)

Out Hud--"One Life to Leave" mp3 off Let Us Never Speak of it Again (buy)

     On the heels of my post about having nightmares, I've decided to follow some good advice a wise friend once gave me and practice "extreme self-care." When you're under a ton of stress and going through difficult times, it's a really good thing to do.

     For me, it entails making sure I exercise, go to bed at a decent hour, drink plenty of water and breathe. Breathing is very important, did you know that? One of my bad tendencies when I'm stressed is to hold my breath. I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time. But taking a moment here and there to breathe deeply, diaphragmatically, is key to relaxing in the moment.

     So breathe with me, won't you, and enjoy these tunes as you practice your own form of extreme self-care.

Beat Radio--"Hard Times for Dreamers" mp3 off Safe Inside the Sound (buy)

Sia--"Breathe Me (Ulrich Schnauss Remix)" mp3 (buy)

     There's actually a book out there called The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson and it's possible that's where I got this from, although it would be very indirectly, as I've never read the book. I'm thinking my friend who gave me the advice did, though.

     I've been having nightmares and anxiety dreams lately and I don't like it at all.

     The other night my husband had to wake me up because I was talking in my sleep. I was dreaming about my boss and she was having a stroke or something awful and her face was drooping and she was crumbling to the floor and I could actually hear myself trying to shout: Call 911! Call 911! It was terrifying.

     Now, I know most people wouldn't be all that freaked out about their boss stroking out on them, but I love my boss and I would never want anything bad to happen to her, ever. She's going through enough shit as it is, which I guess is at the crux of my dream to begin with.

     I'm under a lot of stress at work and although I know we'll all come out of it in one piece and probably even be better for it, at the moment it's really tough. And I'm not even experiencing the half of it. In fact, I hardly have a right to complain. Nevertheless, it's bringing on a lot of anxiety and affecting my sleep, which is quite precious to me!

Nightmares on Wax--"Hear in Colour" mp3 off Thought So . . . (buy)

Ester Drang--"Valencia's Dying Dream" mp3 off Rocinate (buy)

Six Red Carpets--"Here's to the Nightmare" mp3 off Nightmares + Lullabies (buy)

     We Eastern Conference Champions fans have waited a long time for them to put out a record and for the time being, Santa Fe, their new 5-song EP, will have to do. We have to take what we can get, you know?

     It's actually quite good. "Common Sense" starts off with a crunching guitar riff and I really like it. Lead singer Josh Ostrander has lost none of his passion and energy in either his vocals or songwriting. The rest of the EP is a bit mellower but "Sideways Walking" has already wound its way into my head. I believe the TV show Melrose Place is going to feature it in an upcoming episode, which is pretty cool.

     My only complaint--well, disappointment, as there's nothing really wrong with it, per se--is that the drums are not as prominent as they were on their full-length, Ameritown. I think Greg Lyons is one of the best drummers I've ever heard and I miss his being more up front in the mix.

     Aside from that, I have no other complaints. Except that it's too short. And that I miss Vern. I'm not sure I miss him playing the bass so much as I miss the idea of Vern. Vern Zaborowski had the best mustache in all of bass guitardom and he was quite the dynamic presence onstage, but he left the band a while ago. In his place is Melissa Dougherty, and I must say she melded seamlessly into the sound, so I hope she doesn't take it as a slight that I'm sad that Vern is gone.

Eastern Conference Champions--"Common Sense" mp3 off Santa Fe EP (buy)

     Read this article in Buzzbands to learn a little more about them and the record. And make sure you get to see them if and when they come to your town.

     I just don't feel like blogging. I know that's sort of stupid to write in a blog post, but I'm sitting here at the computer trying to think of something to say and that's all that comes to mind.

     Instead of writing, you see, I'm playing a lot of Rock Band 2. My daughter got it for her birthday and I have to say, it's a most excellent form of family entertainment. Even my teen-age son is joining in the fun. So far I enjoy drumming the most, although singing is my real strength. For some reason, I've yet to pick up the guitar. It kind of scares me.

     The crummy thing about it is that you have purchase all the good songs (we didn't get the Beatles version). From the little I've browsed, I've seen some interesting choices, including an old favorite of mine, "Hell Hole" by Spinal Tap, and "Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio. I'm sure there are loads more, too, I just haven't gotten to them yet. I don't suppose it'll have any Frightened Rabbit or Eastern Conference Champions, though, two of the most fantastic drumming bands around.

     Of the music that comes with it, the best track I've "performed" is a Social Distortion song, "I Was Wrong." Not my typical cup of tea, true, but it sure is fun!

Social Distortion--"I Was Wrong" mp3 off White Light White Heat White Trash (buy)

     This song strikes me as the perfect way to enter the first days of fall and to say good-bye to summer. Enjoy.

Let's take a walk across the Tennessee River / And let our feet feel the Walnut Bridge

And as the wind cools down the summer / We'll watch it all fall asleep again

Heypenny--"Walnut St. Bridge" mp3 off Use These Spoons (buy)

     I'd like to thank Mr. Bungle for introducing me to David Bazan, albeit rather indirectly. You didn't know I knew Mr. Bungle personally, did you? I don't, of course, but it is a bit of a funny story.

     There was a young man who worked at the local record shop I frequent that used to recommend music to me and my daughter. He was fond of Mike Patton, former front man for Mr. Bungle. Well, my daughter and I didn't know this very nice guy's name and after a while it became too awkward to ask him directly, so when we talked about him we referred to him as Mr. Bungle. Perhaps not the kindest nickname in the world, but it seemed to fit.

     Anyhoo, he was a huge fan of the now-defunct Christian rock band Pedro the Lion and on his recommendation, I picked up one of their albums. I have to say it didn't do much for me, but I recall his being very disappointed at the fact that they'd broken up. He was very much looking forward to the future solo work of their lead singer, David Bazan, however, which leads me, rather long-windedly, to today's real subject, which is David Bazan's new solo album Curse Your Branches.

     I first heard the single "Bless This Mess" and was immediately taken with it. The half-twist he puts on all the Biblical phrases is brilliant. It adds an incredible amount of pathos to the song, which is essentially about a man who's an alcoholic and yet loves his family deeply and wants to be a better man . . . right after he has another drink. It's painfully honest and yet even though the lyrics are serious, the tune is really catchy and upbeat. It sucked me right in and I haven't been able to stop listening to it since.

     The main thrust of this album, however, is Bazan's disengagement from and rejection of all the religious teachings and beliefs he was brought up with. He stops short of denying the existence of god, but he comes close to it. Basically, it's an argument with and against god and the fundamentalist Christian "truths" that he grew up with.

     But don't let the serious subject matter dissuade you or make you think this album's not for you. It's wonderful and even if you don't listen to the lyrics through the lens of a recovering Christian, you will find much to appreciate. If you do, then you will like it even more.

David Bazan--"Bless This Mess" mp3 off Curse Your Branches (buy) 

     Here's a short interview with Bazan that helps explain his past and where he is today, theologically speaking. He also recently completed a Daytrotter session, which you can find here.

     I'm back and things are back to normal (more or less--now I have no sound on the computer but I can work around that for the time being). Thanks to my husband for fixing things.

     I've not got much to report, except that my inbox is over-freaking-flowing with new music that I'm simply never going to get to. I feel really bad about that, folks, but it's a fact of life. I've got two kids' birthdays coming up (one is in two days) and I'm not prepared for them at all. Why I do this every year, I don't know. I mean, it's not like I don't know they're coming! I am the world's biggest procrastinator, though, so that may be one reason.

     I do have one exciting bit of news to share. Beat Radio, one of my favorite bands, is offering their new album Safe Inside the Sound for free download at their blog and I can highly recommend it. They've gone through a bit of a transformation, changed some band members, but their sound is as tight and wonderfully thoughtful as ever, with some new electronic touches that add an extra layer to their dreamy/semi-shoegazey goodness. Lead singer/songwriter Brian Sendrowitz puts his entire heart and soul into these songs and his deepest desire is have folks hear the music, so head on over and treat yourself.

Beat Radio--"Follow You Around" mp3 off Safe Inside the Sound (buy a limited edition cd with handmade artwork or download mp3s free)

Beat Radio--"Green Luxury Condo" mp3 off Safe Inside the Sound

     I think the above statement is true, at least I hope so in this case! What am I going on about? Well, my main computer--the one with all my music on it and my FTP program and all that jazz--is temporarily down. I don't think it's the hard drive, in fact my husband says he thinks it's the power supply, but it whatever it is, it means I can't do any blogging with mp3s or pictures. I can't even download any music or update my ipod or make cds. I am dead in the water, people.

     In addition, I'm heading to Minneapolis for two days, so I won't even be back until late Monday night AND I'm going to be working even more. That's a long, sad story, but suffice it to say, things might a little quiet around here in the meantime. Hopefully my husband will have things up and running by the time I get home.

     It was such an exciting episode of the contrast podcast the first time Tim did it, he's doing it again. What's that? The "random/shuffle" theme, that's what. Go here to see what popped up on everyone's music player of choice.

     I recorded my intro as it happened, which was kind of scary, because even though my ipod is only a Nano, who knows what crazy song could have come up. I got lucky, however, as it was a Moonbabies song. Thank god.

     It got me to thinking about another random thing, actually. A couple of days ago, my friend Fil left a comment on a post wherein I'd mentioned The Spinto Band. He said he didn't care too much for their music and in fact recently when they were playing at a festival he was at, he'd left a set of theirs early. On the way out, he ran into Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit, whom he'd met previously at a gig in Seattle, so they chatted for a while.

     Well, the random thing is, I've talked to Scott after a gig, so has JC, Tart, Agnes and Colin, and all of us "know" each other through the contrast podcast--and now we've all met Scott. How else on earth, I ask you, would he have met the six of us if not for the cp? We are just six disparate souls floating around the globe and yet we're all connected by this invisible thread that runs through the internets. I think it's really cool. Cosmically cool! Just thinking about it makes me happy and smile, which just happens to be the title of my randomly generated song for the podcast.

Moonbabies--"Happy When Smile" mp3 off We're Layabouts (buy--I think this is out of print, sorry)

p.s. I just found out that Moonbabies will be playing at least two shows at the upcoming CMJ festival in New York City. They'll be at Norwood Club on Oct. 22nd and Crash Mansion on Oct. 23rd. More shows to be announced. God, I wish I lived closer to town.

     It's the autumnal equinox today. I love that term. I wish I loved what it brings, but I don't. It's all downhill from here (unless you live in the southern hemisphere, of course, but I'm being hemispherically-centric today, sorry!).

     In fact, I think it's responsible in part for my recent mood swings.

     Not purely because of the physics of the matter, but for what it represents. Fall always seems like a time of loss for me. I feel it most acutely at this time of year. I know, it doesn't take much to make me feel that way, but there's something about the darker evenings, the leaves thinning and the kids going back to school that stirs a poignant sense of time slipping away.

The Superimposers --"Autumn Falls" mp3 off Harpsichord Treacle (buy)

Yo La Tengo--"Autumn Sweater (u-Ziq Remix)" mp3 off Autumn Sweater (buy)

The Autumns--"Killer in Drag" mp3 off Fake Noise From a Box of Toys (buy)

     Official time of the equinox at my location: 17:19 EDT.

autumnal painting by carol wiebe

     I wrote about James Yuill a while back because I'd just discovered him but I didn't do a full review. I also mentioned that I was confused about whether his album Turning Down Water for Air was available in the States yet.

     Well, I can clear things up in that regard. The album was released May 26th in the U.S. and I've got nothing but praise for it. I can't believe it's taken me so long to write about it.

     I love it when an artist combines electronic and acoustic sounds, especially acoustic guitar, and he blends the two beautifully throughout the album. It's on the melancholic side but it has a sexy energy that belies the disappointment he writes about. There aren't any tracks that he fully rocks out on, but that's okay. There's a measured feeling to his songs that make me feel calm and settled yet in the mood, and I like that.

James Yuill--"Left Handed Girl" mp3 off Turning Down Water for Air (buy)

James Yuill--"No Pins Allowed" mp3 off Turning Down Water for Air

p.s. Go here to check out a great remix of "No Pins Allowed." Filter Magazine ran a remix contest for the song and this is the one James picked as the winner. Belated congrats, Eric!

     I realize this is short notice, but I don't often get to plug local events for people I actually know, so here goes.

     The Jam on the Brandywine is a yearly music fest that benefits the Brandywine Valley Association, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving the health and beauty of the Brandywine Creek watershed.

     This year they've got eight bands lined up, with The Spinto Band as headliners. Pretty cool, don't you think? The other bands are strictly local, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get out and enjoy them as well. Tickets are only $20/carload ($30 day of the show) and you can get them at their website.

The Spinto Band--"Pumpkins and Paisley" mp3 off Moonwink (buy)

The Spinto Band--"Crack the Whip" mp3 off Nice and Nicely Done (buy)

     The rest of the day's lineup includes: Sin City Band, Nancy Micciulla, Uncle Jimmy, The Porch Chops, The Cameltones, Love Minus Zero (a subset of The Porch Chops, not the UK band) and Montana Wildaxe.

     I love the "parts of the body" series that the contrast podcast is doing this year. So far we've covered the eyes, lips, heart, arms, skin, feet and arse and now we're on to the hair. You can listen to this week's furry episode right here. Next week we're doing "random/shuffle," which we did a while back. It's always a little scary, because god only knows what's going to pop up!

     This week I picked at right rousing tune by Cinderpop, but had I thought a little more about it, I would have gone with "Samson" by Regina Spektor. So here's both of them.

Cinderpop--"Blonder" mp3 off A Lesson in Science (buy)

Regina Spektor--"Samson" mp3 off Begin to Hope (buy)