Mink Cars on Avery Island?

Ask me what type of music I like, and I will say "anything with energy." Well, Mink Car by They Might Be Giants, and On Avery Island by Neutral Milk Hotel contain an unexplainable element of raw energy. Much like The Strokes, both of these bands exemplify the meaning of raw energy. What is "raw energy" you ask? In my opinion it is passion you can feel bleed out of your very own pores when listening to the songs, it is creative, different and doesn't sound like the lead vox spent a good chunk of his teenage years in vocal lessons. It's naked, powerful and pure.

They Might Be Giants is a saxophone clad, witty and eccentric band with killer lyrics and kick ass harmonics. They are the melting pot of sound; or noise, but that's dependent upon interpretation. Think 80's euro pop mixed with The Strokes, a dash of Elvis Costello and Streetlight Manifesto, plus one really cool synthesizer sound effects machine. All of these qualities effectively shine through on Mink Car, released in 2001. The sounds that range on this album are completely scattered. It's incredibly difficult to compare TMBG to other artists because each song has a different sound with different influences. For example, the song "Hopeless Bleak Despair" has a lot of The Strokes roots. But "Yeh Yeh" has Streetlight Manifesto influences and "Hovering Sombrero" has an Elvis Costello-y sound. And even "Mr. Excitement" and "Wicked Little Critta" have some old-school kind of rap sounds. Next to The Talking Heads, TMBG may just be one of the most versatile bands ever. This album in particular is one of my favorites to throw on and dance around to. The beats and sounds offer a lot of body movement that many other songs cannot.

On Avery Island by Neutral Milk Hotel is much like The Aeroplane Over the Sea, minus the whole song story influenced by The Diary of Anne Frank. The fuzz bass, and folk-y rawness is all over this album. Jeff Mangum's wailing, crooning voice shines through on this album, especially in my favorite part of "Someone is Waiting" when he breaks into a mind melting harmony. It's harsh, loud and completely brilliant. There is also more "noise" on this album, as opposed to The Aeroplane Over the Sea. In "Marching Theme," a three minute instrumental, mainly featuring the fuzz bass and a flute (I think it's synthesized), Jeff demonstrates his outre talent to produce music through "noise." However, Neutral Milk Hotel wouldn't be Neutral Milk Hotel without the wailing voice and "noise." It's what makes them unique, it gives them an edge over other indie rock bands. There are some odd songs on this album, such as "Naomi" and "Song Against Sex." These songs are so well written, that there are a variety of interpretations that can be drawn from the verses; and you know its good writing if it keeps you guessing.

Both of these albums are full of that raw energy I love, even if it is noise, it is always passion. Some artists today may have the voice, may have the talent but lack the passion. The raw energy and phenomenal passion that is flowing through the vains of these musicians is what sets them apart and makes them memorable.

Decemberists and Sufjan...Part Duex

This past week I've done some serious downloading of music on to my iPod. Two of my newest additions including Picaresque by The Decemberists and Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens. Both of these albums are older than the albums I reviewed in my first blog. However, they are new to me. I was pretty shocked how much these albums differed from the ones I previously mentioned. Both of these albums caused both Sufjan and The Decemberists to creep up my list of favorite albums of senior year 06-07; with The Decemberists and Sufjan ranking in my top 5.

Picaresque by the Decemberists was released in 2005, one year before The Crane Wife. However, after listening to both albums extensively, I have come to conclusion that it is absolutely impossible to pick one album over the other. The Crane Wife is creative and well done, but has a soft, crooning tone to it. Picaresque is just as creative and well done, but is much, much more theatrical. To compare these two albums is to compare Steel Magnolias to Chicago, the musical. Picaresque is a bit more sad, sallow and downright depressing, but the theatrical folk that backs these oh-so-sad lyrics takes away the sting at heart. The song that stood out most to me the first time I gave this CD a run-thru was "Mariners Revenge." This song begins with a polka-sounding accordion and tells the tale of two mariners trapped in a whale. Each time I listen to this song I can't help but dance and sing along to it. It is so creative and unique, even though it can be compared to some of Tom Waits songs. I also really like "We Both Go Down Together," and "The Bagman's Gambit." As far as unique songs go, this album is chock-full of them.

Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens (say that five times fast!) is also much different than Illinoise. Seven Swans, though not as creative as Illinoise, shows a more mature and serious side to Sufjan. It is full of metaphors, not ones quite as lighthearted as those of Illinoise, that relate to love, life and religion. His deep lyrics on life and love, mostly heartbreak, shine through on tracks like "We Won't Need Legs to Stand," and "Size Too Small." Besides "Size Too Small," some of my favorites off this album include "Sister," an uplifting instrumental and "The Dress Looks Nice on You," a nice, sweet song in lyrics, but has some really cool, almost eerie and haunting sound effects. It took me a little while to get into this album, mainly because it is so much different than Illinoise. I find that this CD has an overall depressing and sad tone, that can't help but make you smile. Again, it is impossible to choose a favorite of the two albums due to their difference in content. Sufjan does reveal his playful side with his infamous banjo interludes in "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" but that's about it. So if you're looking for that lighthearted folk, you're not going to find much of it here. However, this is an incredible album for sad, mellow songs, great for relaxation. (And bubble baths!)

Both Picaresque and Seven Swans bring more insight into these artists. The difference between these albums and the ones blogged about earlier is shocking and amazing. So check them out, variety is the spice of life after all...

Polar Opposites

Okay, so over vacation I spent a nice chunk of my Christmas money on buying new music. So it's back to weekly obsession! Although I have known both of these artists for quite sometime, and I have also actually had one of these albums for a while, I have just recently discovered their true power. Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis and The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel have absolutely nothing in common, and are complete musical opposites, but both are amazing.

Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis is jazz as smooth as butt-ah. It has come to my attention that jazz may very well be the universal language. At a recent get together with a few of my friends, all of which who have musical tastes that could fill the entire spectrum, I put on Kind Of Blue, and every single person in the room seemed to enjoy it, and a few people were actually familiar with the tunes. It became very clear that one does not have to be a jazz nut to appreciate the incredible talent Miles Davis has. In case you didn't know, there are no vocals in his songs, they are all instramental. According to jazzitude.com, the album is good for relaxing, drinking, meditating, making love, and just plain listening. And I not only agree to that, but also add that it can very well be considered the universal language. With the colaboration of exquisit talent Kind of Blue brought together seven now-legendary musicians in the prime of their careers: tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb and of course, trumpeter Miles Davis. These power houses bring down the house with thier oh-so smooth jazz that can make the coldest soul feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My favorite songs off of this album are deffinetly "Freddie Freeloader" and "All Blues." I personally love taking bubble baths and reading Cosmo to these songs especially but also this enitre album, talk about a stress reliever!



And now for a complete 180. The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel was my biggest surprise album. I purchased this album on a whim, after testing it out a little bit at FYE. I find this album incredibly addicting. It's so different, many of the songs on the album use "fuzz bass" which is an eccentric distortion technique that sounds like well, distortion. Which can be considered "noise" (sorry Des!) but I think you may actually like it. It's a unique effect really, it would sound horrible if it was all Neutral had, it would sound like you blew your speakers and continued to play your music way too loud. However, the band also applies theatrical folk behind this fuzz bass, which makes for another completely unique sound. The entire album tells a story, so for you people who like to listen to everything on random (much like myself) at least give this album one run-thru in order. Once you get the concept of the album listening to it on random is okay, you will still be able to piece together the story as well as enjoy the songs. Some fo my favorites include "Two Headed Boy," "Holland 1945," and "Oh Comely." These are the best songs off of the album to sing along to. It's really hard to describe, this album is just THAT awesome. When listening to Neutral Milk Hotel, you can hear where The Decemberists got some of thier influence, which just makes me even more happy!

Again, I recomend both of these albums to anyone and everyone. Despite thier complete oppositions, I think that anyone with any type of musical taste can appreciate and fall in love with both of these disc's!

New and Different?

It is a tradition of my family to attend the Trans-Siberian Orchestra every year. We have gone to every show for the past six years. Five out of six of these shows have been at the Pepsi Arena, much like the one this year. The show was on December 22nd, this year which is around the typical date the Trans-Siberian Orchestra usually comes around, mainly because their music is Christmas based. However, the main show that TSO puts on is a story, about a young runaway girl who tries returning home on Christmas day. They also do a lot of classical songs, like any of the songs off of the album Beethoven's Last Night. Their musical style can be described as hard-rock, classical, orchestral, and Christmas music, all blended together. No Jingle Bells, or Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer here, just classical, orchestral oblivion.

Every year, TSO does the same first set, which is the story of the young girl, but then the entire second half is filled with the classical stuff, and any other songs they decide to perform. Also each year, TSO interrupts one of their Christmas songs with a classic rock song, for example this year in the middle of one of their songs, the band just broke out into "Layla" by Eric Clapton and last year, the band broke out into "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. In accompany to the music, TSO is notorious for their pyrotechnics and lighting show. They have incorporated different lighting schemes into their music, as well as laser beams that bounce around to their music. each additional year, TSO promises that they will add something new to the show, mostly dealing with the lighting and pyrotechnics. They have added effects in past years such as snow, stars, the lasers, a lifting rocket platform, different colored fire, and different lighting effects. However, I couldn't help but notice that TSO had fallen short of their promise this year. As far as pyrotechnics go, it was all the same, nothing new. In fact, it was even less than last year. Last year they had fireworks that went all the way up some of the aisles on the side where no one could sit, but the fireworks were not there this year. Also, Jeff Plate, the drummer does a solo every year, and its absolutely amazing, except this year the solo only lasted 2 minutes as opposed to the 5-7 minute solos he usually performs. This really disappointed me because he is an amazing drummer and I didn't feel like his solo showed off his true talent. On the other hand, this year TSO did add a few new features to the show, musically. They had "keyboard wars" where the two keyboardists faced off, and they also remixed one of their Christmas songs into a more jazz-ier piece. Both of these features were really cool, and added a little something extra to the show.

Overall TSO is an amazing group, full of talent and if you ever decide to see one of their shows, you wont be disappointed. The light shows themselves are completely worth the ticket, even if you don't like the music, which is hard not to, its unlike anything you've ever heard of before.