Like a Phoenix Rising From the Ashes (or that mangy dog you thought you got rid of)

Fancy seeing you here.

Ok, so I suppose the two year absence is worth acknowledging. I was having fun writing this blog and updating infrequently. Then I got restless, and started posting stuff to the Examiner, which was fun for awhile. But being a busy grad student sometimes means that you have other things on your plate, and well, I stopped updating regularly. As it turns out, if you do that for too long, the people who run the Examiner get impatient and delete your account. It kinda left a bad taste in my mouth and turned me off blogging for a few months.

But, like a boxer who doesn't know when he's licked, I decided I wanted to step back into the ring so to speak and start writing again. Of course, I was still a busy grad student (and let's be honest, lazy) so it got put off for a very long time. But since graduating I've found the perfect way to make time for things like blogging: Unemployment! (On a totally related note, anybody looking to hire a Musicologist? My special skills include overthinking music, gluttonous eating, growing facial hair, and I don't want to brag but I'm getting pretty good at drinking beer and doing crossword puzzles.)

So, um, yeah. I'm back baby! I'll do my best to not disappear indefinitely anymore, make this site more awesome by the day. And of course I'll be sure to keep up the snark and over-analysis you've forgotten you loved.


Ok, You (Hadn't) Asked For It: MUSIC!

I'll take it easy for now, and instead of really writing something insightful, I'll just share a few of the artists I've been listening to over the past few months. Here goes:

1) Devotchka - 100 Lovers


Ok, full disclosure, my opinion of Devotchka may be tainted by the fact that they hail from Denver, just a few miles down the road from the Universal Sandwich compound, and that I've seen their drummer in tights (oo-la-la!) as part of a band of drunken patriots who've formed an unholy alliance with the dark side of the force in the name of partying and booty shaking across the galaxy (that's all I'm gonna say about that *wink*)
But biases aside, if you haven't checked out these hometown heroes yet, now's the time to get yourself right with the music gods and give them a listen. I'll let you do the googling to find out how critics attempt to describe this band, and I'll just say that they draw on a lot of musical styles to create some really gorgeous and fun music. 100 Lovers has been on heavy rotation in my playlist since it came out in part because of how well crafted and layered of an album it is. Definitely worth picking up.


2) Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx

Speaking of Devotchka, as I write this, I'm listening to another band that they have recently shared the stage with. The standard boilerplate on Mariachi El Bronx is that it's the result of LA hardcore punk band The Bronx deciding that they wanted to record a mariachi album under the alter ego Mariachi El Bronx. And now they alternate between playing sets as the Bronx and under their mariachi moniker. But the real surprise here has less to do with guitarrons and mariachi horn lines and more to do with excellent pop songs hiding under it all. The consistent songwriting is what allows this album to survive what might otherwise be a somewhat thin gimmick.

3) Gang of Four - Content



The most exciting part here is that I get to write about an entire album of new materials from one of post-punk's most important bands. That it's actually a pretty good album is just the icing on the cake. Sure, it's no Entertainment!, but that's like expecting the Beatles to just keep recording Sgt. Pepper over and over again; eventually you're gonna have to record Magical Mystery Tour. But, as consolation prizes go, you could do a lot worse than Content.

4) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Ok, so I'm very late to the Arcade Fire bandwagon. I was aware of them during the Neon Bible but I never bothered listening to them until shortly after The Suburbs was released last Summer. And to be honest, I don't really mind that I waited. I know die-hard Arcade Fire fans would probably crash their fixed gear bicycles if they were to hear me say it, but The Suburbs is just a much better album than Neon Bible. There is just a much greater sense of grandeur here, which is absolutely what their "chamber rock" is best suited for. Also, a belated pat on the back should be given to the folks at the Grammy's for awarding this with album of the year, even if it did cause the general public to utter a collective WHO!??

There are of course more artists I've been listening to (including a recent rediscovery of the Butthole Surfers), but I'll spare you for now, or at least until I collect my thoughts enough to write some actual record reviews.