It's Valentines Day and I'm sitting at home writing on my blog for the first time in more than a month drinking a Cuba Libre (Rum and Coke for the non-hispanics). Nora is in San Diego for the weekend going to gay bars with her Uncle and his boyfriend. I don't know if I have had a weirder Valentines Day (ok, I have, but I'm not going to get into that now).
I've recently joined a carpool with 3 other people, which is really great considering that we have a 1 hour commute each way and I usually have to drive only once a week. The unfortunate part is that they have completely different political/social views from me. Between their commentary about the effort to overturn Proposition 8 in California ("don't they just get it, being 'tolerant' of gays doesn't mean you accept gays") and having to leave my house at 5:15 AM, it's been a little tough continuing with the carpool. So far, the savings on gas and wear & tear on my car are winning out.
One thing that has made this carpool bearable is that I've started listening to the Sound Opinions music podcast. It's a once weekly hour-long podcast with two music critics from the Chicago area who talk about recent music news, interview artists and producers, review mainstream and obscure albums, and play a lot of good music. They have an archive of podcasts that goes back to 2005, which is great for me since I haven't really listened to much music since I started listening to NPR in 2001. I can't stand commercial radio and I don't have the patience to listen to college radio stations to find the good music. I've had plenty to listen to by combining the new shows with the archived shows, and have found some really great music to boot!
However, I don't always agree with the "Buy It, Burn It, Trash It" recommendations that Jim and Greg make when they review albums. I've bought a couple of duds which they were raving about (Neil Young's Living With War and Tim Fite's Fair Ain't Fair) which I wish I hadn't wasted my money on buying the whole album. After these mistakes, I've signed up for the Rhapsody music service and I can easily say this is the best move I've made all year. For $12.99 a month I get to listen to all the music that I want and gauge what I want to buy (The Loon by Tapes 'n Tapes) against what I think really stinks (Sunday at Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan).
Here are some of my favorite albums that I've found specifically through Sound Opinions:
The Loon by Tapes 'n Tapes
Finding Forever by Common
Steal My Horses and Run by Blackstrap
Remind Me In 3 Days by The Knux
Dear Science by TV on the Radio
In Rainbows by Radiohead
12 Angry Months by Local H
The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust by Saul Williams
This Gift by Sons and Daughters
St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley
Late Registration by Kanye West
Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo by Rivers Cuomo
Over the Counterculture by Tim Fite
Icky Thump by The White Stripes
Here are some of my favorite singles that I've found through Sound Opinions:
Black Stacey by Saul Williams
Effect and Cause by The White Stripes off of Icky Thump
The Modern Leper by Frightened Rabbit
You Really Got A Hold On Me* by She & Him
Jack Killed Mom by Jenny Lewis
Misunderstood by Common
I've Been Shot by Tim Fite
Dancing Choose by TV on the Radio
Can't Stop Partying by Rivers Cuomo
15 Step by Radiohead
The Iliad by Tapes 'n Tapes
The List by The Knux
*I don't like the album version of You Really Got A Hold On Me by She & Him. You've got to go to the archive of Show #142 on the Sound Opinions website. This recording sends chills down my spine every time I hear it.
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4 comments:
I hope you didn't pay much for that Radiohead album since they were offering it on their website for whatever you wanted to pay for it, including nothing if that's what you chose. Which is what I chose, being a poor grad student and all. Though it's great and certainly worth something.
I did pay for the CD version, but that's OK since I really loved the CD and felt that Radiohead should get the money.
By the way, Sound Opinions had a whole show talking about how Radiohead released the album and how it was a huge success (and how it shows you don't have to be part of a major label anymore in order to be successful in this industry). They replayed an interview that they did with Radiohead before In Rainbows was released.
I love Jenny Lewis, too! Did you catch her on World Cafe last week? She was awesome. Check out Rilo Kiley, too, which is her other band.
No, I didn't catch that performance. I've already got Rilo Kiley on my player queue.
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