Changing Tastes… July 28, 2007
Posted by admin in : Articles , add a commentYou may have noticed the majority of the posts at the start of this blog are from a couple of years ago. Why? I hear you ask. Well, I don’t. But you get the idea. I originally wrote the album and live music reviews here for an Irish website which I contributed to for a few months (unfortunately, time became an issue, and so I couldn’t help out any more). I created a blog soon after stopping contributing (yes, I know, how did I find the time to create the blog?)
Now, with the launch of my second (and hopefully more successful and longer-lasting) blog, reading over my old content, it strikes me how much my music tastes have changed. I’ll admit, hear and now, for a long time I was a music snob – I had a very limited range of tastes, and was unwilling to listen outside those. But over the last 12 months, I’ve found things have changed. Instrumental guitar music (Explosions in the Sky), Balkan gypsy music (Gogol Bordello), opera, and classical music have all found their way into my music collection, while some bands, very similar to those I already listen to, now frankly send me to sleep (and not in a good way…Spain, I’m looking in your direction…)
Of course, I’ll still always have a place in my heart (and collection) for GWG (guys with guitars – Michael Tolcher, John Mayer), singer-songwriters (Josh Rouse), depressing rock (Red House Painters, the National), indie pop-rock (Death Cab for Cutie), and emo (Something Corporate, Jimmy Eat World). But lately, I’ve found a lot of African vocal music appearing on my MP3 players…what about you?
The National – Slow Show July 28, 2007
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentAnd from the same album (Boxer – if you haven’t bought it yet, BUY IT!), comes the song with my favourite lines of 2007…”You know I dreamed about you, for twenty-nine years before I saw you, you know I dreamed about you, I missed you for, for twenty-nine years”.
If someone said this to you, you’d be reaching for the sick bucket. However, Matt Berninger singing it in his heartbreaking Leonard Cohen-esque brings a very different slant to the proceedings…
The National – Apartment Story July 28, 2007
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentOne the most-played songs on my iPod at the moment. I’m really not sure – does this classify as a love song? “We’ll stay inside til somebody finds us, do whatever the TV tells us, stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days”. Vaguely romantic, mainly disturbing…
The National – Mistaken for Strangers July 28, 2007
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentYes, I know you’re probably sick of the National videos at this stage, but I’m not. And it’s my blog. So there.
The National – Fake Empire July 26, 2007
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentThe National – FANTASTIC! Live – BRILLIANT! Fake Empire, from their new album, Boxer – YES, YES, YES! David Letterman – f*ck. Oh well. 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.
Plug For My Mate… July 26, 2007
Posted by admin in : Listen Online, Songs , add a commentWell, not just a plug – I’ve actually found myself on his myspace page listening to the song “Right Words” a few times this evening. Check it out here: http://www.myspace.com/davidgrahamireland.
I’d buy the album. If he releases one. Not just because he’s a mate. Bloody catchy music.
The National – Ada July 25, 2007
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentAmazing – the National, while in France, played some songs while in the company of friends. All details can be found here.
The National – Start A War July 25, 2007
Posted by admin in : Videos , add a commentJackie Wilson – Higher & Higher July 24, 2007
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentIt feels like a Jackie Wilson sort of day.
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Jackie Wilson – Higher and Higher
Waxing Lyrical – The National July 23, 2007
Posted by admin in : Waxing Lyrical , add a commentThere's money in your bank account. You've had a couple of drinks. The members of the opposite sex are watching your every move. You're full of confidence; it courses through your veins. The world is yours tonight – any girl, any guy, any place you go – it's all yours for the taking. Have you ever felt like this? The National have.
"I'm put together beautifully. Big red bottle in my fist. Big red rose in my teeth. I'm a perfect piece of ass. So tall I take over the street, with highbeams shining up my back, with wingspan unbelievable. I'm a festival, I'm a parade."
