Archive for the 'music' Category

Listen to The Resurrectionists

November 21st, 2008 Comments(2)

The weather in Kansas has turned towards the coveted chill of late fall. The wind has whipped most leaves out of the trees, creating agnostic whirling dervishes all across the lawns. It makes me want to curl up in a window with a mug of hot tea and watch the dance of the dead leaves…and now I’ve got the perfect soundtrack to do just that.

Over the past few days, I’ve been on a reconnection binge with old friends and that turned up a great find from my friend and ethnic Kansan Alex Kissel. As you know, I am fond of pointing you in the direction of my friends that busy themselves by creating things for the rest of us to enjoy. His band, The Resurrectionists, has a new album entitled Here Hope Flows Like Blood From the Nose. It has been described as being “for those who prefer their Americana with a side order of strangeness,” and while that seems apt, I prefer to simply call it “American Gothic”. At least that’s how it will be labeled in my music collection once my CD arrives.

It has hints of Sixteen Horsepower and Tom Waits, but these guys hoe their own road. Listen to “Jersey Devil” below and imagine your nose filled with the scent of burning leaves and blowing flurries. Then, check out more tracks on their MySpace page. If you are lucky enough to be in the Boston area tomorrow night (Saturday, November 22), they are playing at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. I highly recommend checking them out, live, loud, or preferably both.

The Resurrectionists - Jersey Devil

Listen to Jim’s Big Ego!

September 24th, 2008 Comments(1)

If you’ve never listened to Jim’s Big Ego, you have been missing out. Though the new disc. *free, didn’t make my most recent Top 5, that is only because I had not yet heard it when I made that list. The song below is the first track on *free and you can get it for free, though if you buy it, the money goes to the band and not some pesky record company. Plus, depending on what you pay (that’s right, you choose how much to pay ala Radiohead), you get varying degrees of cool stuff. W00t!


Jim's Big Ego - International

I had a point here…oh yeah, the song. It is excellent and is the kind of music that I point to when my Dad says to me, “What is wrong with your generation? What have they contributed?”

I’ve got a fever! The only prescription? My 100th post!

September 10th, 2008 Comments(2)

Damn, I love me some Christopher Walken. Now you can get all the cowbell you need. Just go to Morecowbell.dj and upload any mp3. The site adds cowbell in just the right places, along with a healthy dose of Walkenization. You can then download the mp3 and get your cowbell’d music fix for years to come. Personally, I’m thinking this might be a great way to spice up boring lectures that you’ve recorded.

What a great day! Not only is this my 100th post on the site (W00t!), the world did not implode, and now this essential tool? Phantastich! But be forewarned: the site is a little too popular for its own good, so response times can be slow.


Edit: Evidently, some people don’t get what I’m talking about. For those of you scratching your heads, please take a moment to check out the glorious cowbell skit.

Ten years in, music industry begins to get it

April 02nd, 2008 Comments(0)

I wasn’t the first to the checkout lane with an mp3 player. I am a music hoarder and therefore loved the idea, but when they broke on the scene I was a poor college student and there simply wasn’t enough money in the beer fund to buy the pricey gadgets that let you put 200 (!) songs on one CD. Then graduation day came and a generous Aunt and Uncle later, I was rocking the Rio Volt SP100. I was in hog heaven.

I hit the eurail that summer, Volt in hand, and there were near fisticuffs with my traveling companions over this player that today can be had at Walmart for $20. Why? Well, on the train, there isn’t a lot to do (at least not in 2001). Music can get you through a lot of boring and confining moments on overnight hauls. But the macro concept there was the fact that you got to take your music with you.

Portable music libraries entered the consumers mind with the walkman in the 80’s, but it wasn’t until the mp3 player that your music fit in your pocket. There wasn’t a bulky shoebox of tapes or Case Logic book of CD’s that had to be toted along with your gadget. Your gadget now WAS your music! Most excellent.

We’ve recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the mp3 player and I am seven years removed from my Rio delight. I am happy to report that the music industry might finally have figured out how to interact with consumers on the digital playing field.

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Lawrence Concert Calender

September 17th, 2007 Comments(0)

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to do this for some time. Now, thanks to the power of Lawrence.com and the ingenuity of the iCal standard, I am happy to bring you my two mashup calenders for the music scene in Lawrence, Kansas. To some, this may seem very unneccesary. I just didn’t like subscribing to 26 different calenders, cluttering up my calender. Now, you can just turn off one calender if it is too much to bear. Simple.

As I said, all credit for the collection of these events goes to the brains in the basement at the World Co. All I did was take the individual venues and mash them together into two options, all venues and venues that host national/regional shows.

I would recommend the latter, but if you feel the need to stay up to date on the happenings at Aimee’s coffee house and Solidarity! Revolutionary Bookstore, knock yourself out. Also, if you have a request for another reduction of the full list, let me know in the comments section. Enjoy and spread the word that these are here!

Why is The Granada so middling for bands?

March 01st, 2007 Comments(0)

I checked out the Of Montreal show at The Granada in Lawrence on Feb. 20. While I certainly enjoyed myself, I must say when I saw them play The Bottleneck in ‘05 (Sunlandic Twins tour), it was a better show.

I can’t decide if it is the multiple levels of the Granada that are to blame, but shows there rarely bring out the best in a band. Two exceptions: The Urge (jumping off levels always helped their shows) and Rusted Root. I will ponder this further and get back to you.