Music

  • Music

    Why I (don’t) hate Radiohead

    It is fairly common for me to make snide remarks about Radiohead. In a conversation with a friend, I once said they were only a step above Matchbox 20. While I was using hyperbole on my friend (who is a pretty loyal Radiohead fan), I do not like the way Radiohead has gone in the last few years – but I don’t actually hate Radiohead, I just think and know they can do better. Hail to the thief and Thom Yorke’s solo album were, in all honesty, some of the worst albums I’ve heard this decade. In Rainbows had its moments, but I still think they could have done a…

  • Music

    The Top 5 albums of 2008 that aren’t getting the attention they deserve.

    One of my favorite things about this time of year is sifting through everybody’s top 5, 10, 25, and etcetera lists. A particular favorite category is that of the years top albums. This year has produced an excessive amount of great music -so much that I’ve been having a hard time making a list of my own. But while sifting through everyone else’s lists, I’ve found several albums missing that deserve a lot more credit then what they got this year. Most of my picks are mentioned on some lists, if you dig enough, but their merit is somehow forgotten. So, without any further wait, here is my top 5…

  • Music

    A quick word about Albums, Audio Files, and Itunes

    Tonight I am listening to the new Iron and Wine album, “The Shepard’s Dog” for the very first time. Its absolutely incredible (would I be writing about it if it wasn’t?). I could go on and on about it, but I’m only four tracks into it. But I do want to talk about something; about a folly of music files, and the possible death of a standard album practice. Track 3 “The Shepard’s dog” fades into track 4 – so its impossible to know where track 3 ends and track 4 begins. Nothing new mind you, its been done for decades. In fact, its pretty much a standard on album…

  • Music

    In Rainbows does not blow…

    There’s good news and bad news about the new Radiohead album, “In Rainbows.” The bad news is its not as good as “Ok Computer;” The good news is its not as bad as “Hail To the Thief” or Thom’s solo album. If it had been as bad as the two latter mentioned albums, I might have to refer to it as “In Rainblows.” In all seriousness, I like it -which is saying a lot considering the expectations I put on a band like Radiohead. They seem to be the type of band that is full of potential, but sometimes sinks to the lowest and/or laziest common  denominator. So when they…

  • Music

    Portable Music: Quality vs Convenience

    Its interesting how the trends in music mediums go back and forth between quality and convenience. Vinyl, for instance, was (is) a great format – especially if you have the right equipment (12+ band equalizers, decent speakers, et al). Pretty nice quality, but totally inconvenient, especially if you wanted to take your music with you. After vinyl’s hay day, we had 8 tracks, and then cassette tapes. Both formats were convenience, but left much to be desired when it came to sound quality. Then came CDs. CDs were / are wonderful quality, and even a bit convenient, though they do tend to skip and they like to develop nasty scratches.So…