inside the sound, a deafening din
Hrm, new music. Somehow I've gotten into Regina Spektor, after missing her for a few years. She's a Russian Jewish immigrant who is a classically trained pianist - the vocal range of sounds she produces is very impressive. Her first actual album is called Soviet Kitsch, the new one is Begin to Hope. Here's her site: Regina Spektor I really got into her when I started checking out her videos on YouTube...especially this video here:
As well as this video, which features her mother's public school class and lots of hand clapping.
Interestingly, several reviews I've read of her describe her sound as "anti-folk" which was used as a descriptive term of a wider musical movement. So, like any trained scholar, I looked it up on Wikipedia. Apaprently, there are a handful of bands in New York City who all hang out in the same neighborhood and make music that sounds like some sort of twee-pop and punk fusion. How Regina Spektor fits in here I'm not quite sure, but like all good musical labels, it defines its own elite and defies you to call a pretentious reviewer on their bullshit. So, is there an anti-pop? What would that sound like? Would anti-pop have an anti-Pope? Or just a Cardinal Richelieu plotting the demise of Coldplay?
(ALERT: Coldplay song used in trailer for Oliver Stone 9-11 movie. Gaaaaah.)
While I have Catholics on the mind, let's talk about Bishop Allen. It's not a person, it's a band - a NYC group that makes some very excellent indie-pop. One of their songs is called The Monitor, which, when I heard it, made me immediately think of the Civil War ironclad battleship. Because, you know, I'm a history dork. Seriously, that was the first thing that came to mind. When I hit play, I was amazed to hear that EXACTLY what the song was about. A pop song about a battle on the James River? Wow. I started to check them out, and they've got some really good songs out - and a series of EP's, one for each mont of 2006. Each EP is titled after a month (eg, May, June, etc) and is available for download for $5 off their site. They make one song from each EP free to hear, so if you want to hear some ukelele, some guitar, and hear about a factory burning down, go here for Myspace or here for the actual website.
I have to go into work this weekend, which is not cool, but what the hell. And Andy wants me to mention him on my blog, and thus make it cooler. So here you are. If you ever want to see a stunning rendition of Welcome to the Jungle, and see a credible Axl Rose "snake" go to the Ould Sod on Adams Ave Saturday nights. Andy will be the guy surrounded by drunk Canadian girls and plastered soccer moms.
As well as this video, which features her mother's public school class and lots of hand clapping.
Interestingly, several reviews I've read of her describe her sound as "anti-folk" which was used as a descriptive term of a wider musical movement. So, like any trained scholar, I looked it up on Wikipedia. Apaprently, there are a handful of bands in New York City who all hang out in the same neighborhood and make music that sounds like some sort of twee-pop and punk fusion. How Regina Spektor fits in here I'm not quite sure, but like all good musical labels, it defines its own elite and defies you to call a pretentious reviewer on their bullshit. So, is there an anti-pop? What would that sound like? Would anti-pop have an anti-Pope? Or just a Cardinal Richelieu plotting the demise of Coldplay?
(ALERT: Coldplay song used in trailer for Oliver Stone 9-11 movie. Gaaaaah.)
While I have Catholics on the mind, let's talk about Bishop Allen. It's not a person, it's a band - a NYC group that makes some very excellent indie-pop. One of their songs is called The Monitor, which, when I heard it, made me immediately think of the Civil War ironclad battleship. Because, you know, I'm a history dork. Seriously, that was the first thing that came to mind. When I hit play, I was amazed to hear that EXACTLY what the song was about. A pop song about a battle on the James River? Wow. I started to check them out, and they've got some really good songs out - and a series of EP's, one for each mont of 2006. Each EP is titled after a month (eg, May, June, etc) and is available for download for $5 off their site. They make one song from each EP free to hear, so if you want to hear some ukelele, some guitar, and hear about a factory burning down, go here for Myspace or here for the actual website.
I have to go into work this weekend, which is not cool, but what the hell. And Andy wants me to mention him on my blog, and thus make it cooler. So here you are. If you ever want to see a stunning rendition of Welcome to the Jungle, and see a credible Axl Rose "snake" go to the Ould Sod on Adams Ave Saturday nights. Andy will be the guy surrounded by drunk Canadian girls and plastered soccer moms.
Funny. I had three Blogspot tabs open in Firefox, and your blog's template looks just like Josh's, and so for the first three paragraphs of this post I was thinking, "Josh is into Regina Spektor?!" But then I realized this is your blog, silly me.
Which Coldplay song is on the Oliver Stone trailer? If it's "The Scientist" I may kill myself. "Everything's Not Lost"? Almost as bad.
Posted by
Hannah |
3:37 PM
Time to get a more distinctive blog, then. And it's "Fix You".
Posted by
Aaron |
5:23 PM
Aaron's showing his his fixation with Russian Jewish women...first it was Ayn Rand...now it's Regina S. Next he'll be extolling the virtues of borscht. Yikes!
And who the heck is Andy??
Posted by
Anonymous |
7:42 AM
I can't say I ever recall being fixated with Ayn Rand. Just vodka, and a rational approach to human interaction characterized by individualism and an objective reality.
Posted by
Aaron |
9:04 PM
Obsessive addiction to jewish women is my specialty. I will agree to jointly share the BSG aficion, but only because it gives me someone to go completely geek with instead of internalizing.
Coldplay should just be renamed Airplay. I really got into their stuff, but people are just playing them to death. I have concerns that the new Evanescence album will see similar treatment.
Posted by
Anonymous |
3:06 PM