Round Squares & Black Holes

Due to (and sometimes in spite of) the quality of songs we've all enjoyed since our music-formative years, hopefully you've all experienced those moments when environment, mindset, weather, behavior etc. conspired with music to claim permanent spots in your long-term memory.

In an instant, a sing-along chorus, the timbre of a unique vocal, the crisp cracks of a drum fill, or the perfect lyric seemed to speak directly to you.  Forever since, hearing that song again jets you directly to a vivid memory of that specific , however insignicant that day, season, or year in your life.

I file these songs under my "Time And Place" category.  They may derive from classic, timeless albums we still enjoy, or one-hit wonders we've barely given a thought for years.  Yet another little wonder that we can lean on when we're inspired or otherwise in a crappy place.

Below are just a few of mine (in no particular order).

Let's hear about yours - Sign up/in and go for it now.  And if you haven't given your thoughts to previous topics "Moments" & "You Speak", your contributions are appreciated!

Moment #1 - Leona Naess' "Calling"
Winter of 2004, driving towards our ski lease at Dollar Point via Tahoe City.  The recent dusting in the area and freezing cold temperatures gave promise of great skiing ahead, and after a long drive we were just minutes away from the hot tub outside the cabin.  As this standout from her third album played through the car's CD deck, the warmth and pace of her voice played perfectly with light snowflakes making their way onto the hood and windshield.  As the final round of choruses finished up, we pulled into the parking space at the exact same time.

Moment #2 - Richard Ashcroft's "Money To Burn"
Summer of 2003, on the endless shore of Destiladeras beach in Jalisco, Mexico.  On a recommendation from our hotel's counter, we took the local's bus 50 minutes from Puerto Vallarta and were treated to the best sun and sand anywhere within the region.  After enjoying the surprisngly refreshing chili-covered mango-on-a-stick (peeled by a man with nothing but a machete) as cool foil to a blistering day, I selected the board arragenments of Ashcroft's first solo album as accompaniment to the tanning and wave-watching.  Good choice - the big orchestral sound he favors helped make me feel as lucky as I did to be there.

Moment #3 - Black Crowes' "No Speak No Slave"/"My Morning Song"
Fall of 2006, downtown L.A.  My college friend Jake & I were driving into the ghetto at Alvarado St. get good fake IDs so we could score our own booze for the dorm rooms at Berkeley.  I'd always thought of Jake's music tastes to this point as rather "old-man"-like, but when he popped in the classic "Southern Harmony & Music Companion" from his modest car collection, the one-two punch of this hard, soulful climatic one-two punch proved that at least we had something in common music-wise.  To this day, this sequence near the end of the album will get my air drums going on the dashboard just as much as it did back then.

Moment #4 - Better Than Ezra's "Good"
Summer of 2001, and I was scrounging to pay my rent, but still somehow found a way to go to cheap Oakland A's games.  So on a gorgeous Independence Day in SF, I packed up the car for a big pre-game tailgate, and pulled out onto Cesar Chavez St. towards the Bay Bridge and flipped on the radio.  The first song heard: the great power chords and straightforward lyric of:
"Well maybe I'll call or write you a letter / Maybe we'll see on the 4th of July"
was apropos in the most obvious sense

Moment #5 - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists' "Timorous Me"
Fall of 2005, Presidio in SF.  Running my first 12K, at the time the first significant hill after the long headwind-enforced flats of the Presidio looks rather arduous at the time (especially after I'd obviously jumped out to way too fast of a start and the fatigue was setting on quickly).  No better timing to get my very first taste of "runner's high", as this benchmark from Leo's "Tyraanny of Distance" pumped through my headphones with its skittering riff and uplifting sound.  Suddenly feeling like I was flying up the hill weightlessly, the next hour brought no pain whatsoever.

SonicLiving

Someone recently introduced me to a site that’ll scan your iTunes artist list, and automatically email you when someone from your list is playing a show in your area:

http://sonicliving.com/wishlist

 

You can also eschew (as I did) the full iTunes-library scan, and manually enter artists you’d like to see live in the future using the “Quick Add Artists” box.

 

I set my account up so rather than being emailed, the new concert notifications filter into my MS Outlook RSS feeds box.  I’m told that the site is rather thorough, and will notify you well in advanced of show dates so that you can score hard-to-get tickets.

 

No need to scan the local venue calendars again!  You can also go to your “wishlist” site to see all upcoming matches at once:

iMeem

Disgusted with the GeoCities-like user interface and navigation of MySpace, I wondered whether some other site would give me the ability to quickly preview the songs of a potentially-worthy new artist without clicking from page to page.  iMeem seems to fit the bill:

http://www.imeem.com/music

 

Sign up for an account, and then you can run searches for artists, song titles, or albums.  On the search result pages, click “Add to QuickMix” to quickly build a playlist from more than one artist & album:

 

 

Your playlist will launch in a separate window, and you can stream, reorder, and delete songs as they playback.  When you’re satisfied with the song list, you can use the “Save as Playlist” button to save the list for future access:

Lastly, you can search and play other people’s playlists, like the one I started making for ACL artists:

http://www.imeem.com/people/ByW_xqz/playlist/lZBEa_8r/austin_city_limits_2008_days_23_music_playlist/

Hey folks,

 

If you're in the Bay Area and want to check out a show with us, I'd recommending the below.  Drop me a line!

Some will definitely sell out, so if you’re interested, procrastinate at your own risk.

Goh Nakamura – Wed 8/20 @ Café Du Nord ($10)

http://www.myspace.com/gohnakamura

http://www.cafedunord.com/brilliant/cal/p.info.php?E_id=1213736772&PU_id=2

Cool blend of acoustic rock with on-stage recording and loop effects.  Definitely a cheeky lyricist (e.g. “Natalie Portman”, a diddy about his celebrity crushes) and general crowd pleaser.

 

Nada Surf w/ Zach Rogue – Tue 9/2 @ Great American Music Hall ($21)

http://www.myspace.com/nadasurf

http://www.gamhtickets.com/evinfo.php?eventid=25407

Thrashing power-pop – check.  Great songwriting – yep.  Well-crafted harmonies – mmm hmm.  Pretty much a largely underrated band.  Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave opens w/ a solo set.  Nice bill.

 

Jakob Dylan – Wed 9/3 @ The Fillmore ($25)

http://www.myspace.com/jakobdylan

(on sale 8/3: http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/334467)

Deep-voiced ex-Wallflower does the solo thing.  Check out “Evil Is Alive” from his first solo album “Seeing Things”, out this year.

 

Ida – Fri 9/5 @ Bottom Of The Hill ($12)

http://www.myspace.com/idamusic

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=both&eventId=281421

Lo-fi soundscapes and great harmonies with a blues background.  Check out “Laurel Blues” or anything off 2005’s “Heart Like A River”.

 

Treasure Island Music Fest – Sat 9/20-Sun 9/21 @ Treasure Island ($65/$115)

http://www.treasureislandfestival.com/

2^nd annual installment from the guys that brought you Noise Pop.  If this year’s is even close to last years, it’ll be memorable.  Saturday’s lineup features TV On The Radio, Hot Chip, Aesop Rock, and Sunday’s has The Raconteurs, Spiritualized, and The Kills.

 

Ron Sexsmith – Thu 10/9 @ Great American Music Hall ($16)

http://www.myspace.com/ronsexsmith

(on sale 8/3: http://www.musichallsf.com/artist_pages/ron_sexsmith_100908.htm)

A 6-album deep collection full of perfect 3-minute folk and pop gems means plenty of A material for a great set.

 

Jolie Holland – Wed 10/15 @ Bimbo’s ($19.50)

http://www.myspace.com/jolieholland

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=289777&pl=bimbos

A gorgeously world-weary voice with folk and alt-country leanings.  Except without the pretense.  Really stoked for this one.  Check out my favorite sample:

http://jason260.vox.com/library/audio/6a00e3989c287e000300e398eaee520004.html

 

 

During the long transitions we've seen from vinyl to cassettes, and then cassettes to CDs, so much has changed about the way we consume our music.

But no change has been more dramatic than the most recent, from CDs to MP3s and digital media.  Instead of asking "Which albums am I going to buy" and "Where am I going to buy them" the more pressing questions are now "How many songs can my hard disk or iPod hold" or "How can I create an MP3 music share?"

Are huge digital music collections the music lover's dream, or a wasteland where gems go to die?
The National Post's Adam McDowell wonders how much is enough:
"On the face of it, hoarding tens of thousands of digital music files for which one has paid nothing looks like greed, plain and simple. Economists, however, are accustomed to soberly examining human beings' acquistive tendencies while declining to moralize. For analysts of digital downloading trends, the question is often not whether music piracy is wrong: It's whether the greed (or rather, self-interest) of digital packrats can create positive externalities (that is, benefits) for others."

Will digital playlists completely replace individually hand-made compilations?
The Chronicle's Peter Hartlaub suggests the mix tape/CD is now more or less history:
"By the sheer effort that went into each one, every cassette mix tape was a big declaration - of love, friendship or even anger. A mix tape was an event. The biggest advantage of making a mix cassette tape was that it almost always forced the creator to hear each song.  The death of the cassette tape also means the death of the mix tape, and that's something worth mourning."

Have we arrived at the perfect utopia for music lovers?  Or is music losing its impact on our lives?  Where do you stand in the global transition to digital music?

Let me know your position.  Take the polls below (select your answer and click "Cast Your Vote" on each) and post your comments at the bottom of this page!

Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts on the little moments that define some of their favorite songs.

When I hear multiple comments like "I don't usually write about music, but I really enjoyed getting involved with this one", I'm honored to have struck a nerve, and to be the beneficiary of your narratives.  Watching some of you play off each other's comments was great.  I'll definitely do another round of this in a couple months.

For those of you who didn't have a chance to write, check out the original post and log in to add your own thoughts here.

Here's a collection of all the songs called out by you, along with your commentaries.  Click on any image to listen and read the selector's comments.  You can also browse The Collection all at once.

Cindy Potter

Did you ever want to issue an overarching apology for all the shitty things you've done (esp. when they were things you didn't do), in a way that conveys both remorse for your own behavior and dismay at the external factors that helped motivate that behavior in the first place?

I did.

You took the words right out of mouth, Jolie Holland:
(2:42)
It’d break my heart to tell you
I couldn’t come so soon
Oh it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame
Is what it is
Oh, it’s nothing
But a goddamn shame

Music is its own language.  Cliché?  Maybe.

Yet I'm sure you've tried to convey the importance of your favorite music to someone else using only words, only to receive blank looks, or if you're lucky, a smile and nod.

Here's your chance to make amends.

Connect your words directly to the music, and show me what you mean.  Post (or at least name) a song along with your comments, and if you like (i.e. if you're a geek like me), list the time of the pivotal moment in the song (as per your expert ears) or a meaningful lyric.  See the first post for examples.

I'll collect everyone's choices and comments into a new post (unless you want to keep your's private - just let me know), and showcase all the songs you've highlighted.  Help me build a great discussion and forward along to your music-minded friends. Let's make this thing huge.

Sign up/in and go for it now.

In other news, check out my new mix and post your comments.  *Maybe* you'll find some extra inspiration.

Not exactly enlightened, but funny nonetheless:
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/reviews/sixword_reviews_of_763_sxsw_mp3s.php

Some upcoming shows I hope to get to:  If you live in the Bay Area, and reading this and interested in joining, drop me a line!

Tristan Prettyman – Sat 3/22 @ Café Du Nord
http://www.myspace.com/tristanprettyman
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=&eventId=244862
The right music for the right venue.  Seems like a simple formula, but I’ve seen the bad matches just as many times as good ones.  With her sparse, bluesy folk arrangements and a suitably cozy venue, grab a stage-side table and get ready to chalk one up in the “good” column.

Beth Orton – Mon 3/24 @ Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason
http://www.myspace.com/bethorton
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/321116?c=dm-402914&p=594804
One of the most underrated voices of the last decade finds a great match a small theater setting.  If you’ve missed her work, start with 1999’s electronically-tinged “Central Reservation” or the more traditional folk structures of 2002’s “Daybreaker”.

Cat Power – Tue 4/15 @ The Warfield
http://www.myspace.com/catpower
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/319066
Haunting, dusty vocals and lingering, understated melodies have always been a winning combination for CDs that age well with time.  We’ll say this years from now in retrospect of her most recent two albums, bookending her skills with 2006’s soulful “The Greatest”, and this year’s phenomenal cover song collection, “Jukebox” (including standout distillations of Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man” and Dylan’s “I Believe In You”).

The Verve – Wed 4/23 @ The Warfield
http://www.myspace.com/thevervetv
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/320044?c=dm-402914&p=594804
If you never got beyond the standard overplayed radio singles, you missed easily one of the best brit-pop bands of the last 2 decades.  Their 1997 epic “Urban Hymns” melds layer over layer of guitars, harmonics, effects, and more guitars into a densely symphonic space, and with no new LPs and a theoretical disbanding since then, this show return should bring back all the energy that album conjured.

I’m From Barcelona – Tue 4/29 @ The Independent
http://www.myspace.com/imfrombarcelona
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=251390
Continuing the Swedish import trend in indie pop circles, they produced one of the most uplifting albums of last year.  Check out “Treehouse” on their samples page -   silly at first, insanely addictive after a few listens.  In the vein of behemoths like Broken Social Scene & Polyphonic spree (but with a much more accessible sound), they travel with 29 band members.  I’d go just to see how they’re going to get everyone on The Independent’s stage.

Rogue Wave – Sat 5/3 @ The Warfield
http://www.myspace.com/roguewave
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/316222
Each of their three albums is built upon the kind of atmospheric pop that often struggles to fill a concert room.  But having enjoyed them thoroughly at last year’s GAMH show despite never hearing of them before, I’ve seen them prove that they definitely transcend this trend.  And with the increasingly symphonic approach on this year’s “Asleep At Heaven’s Gate” release, a larger venue should be no problem either.

Cloud Cult – Tue 5/13 @ Bottom of The Hill
http://www.myspace.com/cloudcult
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=both&eventId=240561
Swirling classic & modern rock together with experimental beats and just a sprinkle of psychedelic and oddball sampling, their sound brings borrows heavily yet definitely has its own truly out-there identity.  Witness the shifting “Happy Hippo” off 2005’s “Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus” (with a powerful epilogue of Neil Young’s “Hey, Hey, My, My”).  At $10, the best bargain on this list.

Seen any of these artists or any others who've performed exceptionally recently?  Post your comment and let me know.