One of my more random music discoveries occured a few years ago while viewing my friend's livejournal post. He was complaining about how when he was younger, his parents wouldn't let him go to see bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Sublime or Cowboy Mouth.
One of these things is not like the other. So armed with Rhapsody I decided to get to know the music of Cowboy Mouth and it turned out it was pretty good. It just so happened that a month later they were performing at the Music Mill in Indianapolis so a group of us decided to go check them out.
I'll start a new paragraph for this one. Cowboy Mouth puts on the best live show I've ever seen. I had liked the stuff I heard online, but it was nothing compared to the experience of being at the show. The drummer was the front man and wore a Drew Brees jersey and no shoes. There was so much energy and crowd participation. We were all exhausted after seeing them play, which I'm pretty sure was a concert first. Needless to say Cowboy Mouth has become one of my favorite bands. I've seen them live 5 times and will continue to go anytime they are in the area because it never gets old. At their last show, they mentioned their new album coming out, which I ordered from amazon as soon as it came out.
Since I've been obsessed with Rock Band lately, everytime I hear songs, I think about how good of a rock band track it would make, especially for drumming. This would definitely be a great downloadable album.
While it's hard to capture the energy and emotion of the live show on a cd, this comes pretty close. And since they performed several of these in concert before the album came out, I can always close my eyes and imagine how it was live.
Two of these songs were previously released on other albums as Cowboy Mouth is wont to do at times. They edited Disconnected (boo censorship) and also redid Tell The Girl You're Sorry which is quite a funny song.
The first part of the album is very strong and vintage Cowboy Mouth. Griff's token song "Follow Me" is also good with a little Black Crowes vibe to it. The last few tracks are a little weak, but still not horrible. Listening to the first eight songs is an absolute delight. In particular I'm fond of "Anything" which to my knowledge is the first uplifting bitter song I've ever heard. The lyrics describe how he's strong and can live through anything now that his girlfriend used him and left him. I had recently been through a break-up very similar so this became a theme song of sorts for me.
Overall this is a very strong album, I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the mellower alternative sound or just good old-fashioned roots rock. I only wish there was a wardrobe option in Rock Band to make your drummer barefoot. Oh well, maybe Rock Band 2 will fix it.
Rating 8/10
Notable songs: "Anything", "Belly", "Tell The Girl You're Sorry", "Kelly Ripa"
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Song associations
I've noticed over the years that sometimes liking a song completely transcends the song itself. Sometimes when I hear a song I instantly associate it with a past life event, sweet or bitter (or bittersweet). Some of my personal associations
"Pepper-Butthole Surfers" During a senior year road trip to Vegas, we inexplicably played this song over and over. I still don't remember why, but now whenever I hear it, I think about driving through north Texas in the middle of the night
Memory factor: Sweet
"Wild Horses-Rolling Stones" A girl I dated a few years back was just beginning to get into classic rock. She asked me what my favorite Stones song was and responded with this, which she had never heard and ended up falling in love with also. We broke up 3 years ago and sporadically keep in touch, but stil everytime I hear this song, it makes me think of her.
Memory factor: Bittersweet
"I Never Wanna F'in See You Again-Rich Hardesty" This stems from a tiff I had with a female friend/fraternity brother's girlfriend several years ago. My roommate joined in with the argument so anytime she was around we just blared this song on repeat. Ironically, she's one of my closer friends now.
Memory factor: Bitter, although now just funny
"Ride With Me-Nelly" As a rule, I generally dislike rap songs, but senior year a group of friends and I all designated our own personal drinking song. I don't even remember what mine was anymore, but one of my roommates chose this and also came up with one of the stupidest looking white boy dances ever to go along with it.
Memory factor: Sweet
"No Rain-Blind Melon" A fraternity brother of mine had almost a polar oppsoite musical taste of me despite liking the same genre. He made me hate DMB even more, made me dislike Cake and even Pearl Jam by constantly overplaying everything. I love Pearl Jam, but it took me a few years after college to be ok to listen to them again. I associate this song with him because he was a huge Blind Melon fan, but absolutely hated this song even though it's the only song by them people know and really about the only semi-decent Blind Melon song.
Memory factor: Bitter
"Piano Man-Billy Joel" At a close friend's wedding reception several years back the Guinness was flowing freely. The night ended with everyone in a big circle on the dance floor swaying and singing along. Afterwards while climbing into our DD's van my friend was still singing with completely innaccurate lyrics. I kept punching him saying "Sing...the....right....words". This tradition had been carried on in a few other wedding receptions throughout the years, although usually without the punching.
Memory factor: Sweet
"Pepper-Butthole Surfers" During a senior year road trip to Vegas, we inexplicably played this song over and over. I still don't remember why, but now whenever I hear it, I think about driving through north Texas in the middle of the night
Memory factor: Sweet
"Wild Horses-Rolling Stones" A girl I dated a few years back was just beginning to get into classic rock. She asked me what my favorite Stones song was and responded with this, which she had never heard and ended up falling in love with also. We broke up 3 years ago and sporadically keep in touch, but stil everytime I hear this song, it makes me think of her.
Memory factor: Bittersweet
"I Never Wanna F'in See You Again-Rich Hardesty" This stems from a tiff I had with a female friend/fraternity brother's girlfriend several years ago. My roommate joined in with the argument so anytime she was around we just blared this song on repeat. Ironically, she's one of my closer friends now.
Memory factor: Bitter, although now just funny
"Ride With Me-Nelly" As a rule, I generally dislike rap songs, but senior year a group of friends and I all designated our own personal drinking song. I don't even remember what mine was anymore, but one of my roommates chose this and also came up with one of the stupidest looking white boy dances ever to go along with it.
Memory factor: Sweet
"No Rain-Blind Melon" A fraternity brother of mine had almost a polar oppsoite musical taste of me despite liking the same genre. He made me hate DMB even more, made me dislike Cake and even Pearl Jam by constantly overplaying everything. I love Pearl Jam, but it took me a few years after college to be ok to listen to them again. I associate this song with him because he was a huge Blind Melon fan, but absolutely hated this song even though it's the only song by them people know and really about the only semi-decent Blind Melon song.
Memory factor: Bitter
"Piano Man-Billy Joel" At a close friend's wedding reception several years back the Guinness was flowing freely. The night ended with everyone in a big circle on the dance floor swaying and singing along. Afterwards while climbing into our DD's van my friend was still singing with completely innaccurate lyrics. I kept punching him saying "Sing...the....right....words". This tradition had been carried on in a few other wedding receptions throughout the years, although usually without the punching.
Memory factor: Sweet
Youthful Angst
When I was younger, I was amazed most people tended to stick their defined genres and the songs they knew. While, I'm still on the lookout for new bands, I am starting to see that point of view. I'm 26 now, own a house and a dog, have a girlfriend and a full-time job that keeps me busy. No matter how much of a music fan I am, I just don't have the time I used to to search out new music.
In addition to that, I've noticed myself on a heavy 90's alternative kick lately. It harkens back to times when life was simpler and less stressful even if I wasn't happy at the time. It's funny how the human mind remembers the glory days of yesteryear without the downside.
Rock and Roll is a young man's genre. The greatest part about it is the angst involved. Once that disappears, it loses a little feeling. Time after time we've seen bands start off with a few good albums only to fade to obscurity.
Dying young is the best thing that can happen to an artist from a commercial standpoint. Release a few good albums, die of a heroin overdose, become famous. It's a tried and true method. There's no downslope to the career. Growing up, Nirvana was popular, but Pearl Jam and other similar bands were just as popular (at least where I lived). One gunshot and nearly 15 years later, Kurt Cobain is a rock god and Pearl Jam is a run of the mill band. Maybe this isn't quite a fair comparison since not much will top Nirvana in terms of influence, but they had a breakthrough album, one more album and a posthumous live set and left people wanting more. No missteps, no burnouts, just great music then a succinct end. If Eddie Vedder had died immediately after releasing Vs. and Nirvana had gone on to release some commercial flops, would history look at the two bands differently today?
It's better to burn out than to fade away. Ironically sung by one of the few rock heroes who did the latter. Mr Young could not have written a more accurate lyric though. My My Hey Hey.
In addition to that, I've noticed myself on a heavy 90's alternative kick lately. It harkens back to times when life was simpler and less stressful even if I wasn't happy at the time. It's funny how the human mind remembers the glory days of yesteryear without the downside.
Rock and Roll is a young man's genre. The greatest part about it is the angst involved. Once that disappears, it loses a little feeling. Time after time we've seen bands start off with a few good albums only to fade to obscurity.
Dying young is the best thing that can happen to an artist from a commercial standpoint. Release a few good albums, die of a heroin overdose, become famous. It's a tried and true method. There's no downslope to the career. Growing up, Nirvana was popular, but Pearl Jam and other similar bands were just as popular (at least where I lived). One gunshot and nearly 15 years later, Kurt Cobain is a rock god and Pearl Jam is a run of the mill band. Maybe this isn't quite a fair comparison since not much will top Nirvana in terms of influence, but they had a breakthrough album, one more album and a posthumous live set and left people wanting more. No missteps, no burnouts, just great music then a succinct end. If Eddie Vedder had died immediately after releasing Vs. and Nirvana had gone on to release some commercial flops, would history look at the two bands differently today?
It's better to burn out than to fade away. Ironically sung by one of the few rock heroes who did the latter. Mr Young could not have written a more accurate lyric though. My My Hey Hey.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The placenta falls for the floor
I've discovered my personal blog (which I often neglect for weeks at a time) most of my posts tend to be music related in some way. Most of my friends just smile and nod at those posts, while I stand on my high horse and preach to the world about how much the music I listen to rocks and how much everything else sucks (which quite frankly is true). So in order to spare them and possibly spur some interesting debates, I figured I'd start up a dedicated music blog. After all the world could always use more bloggers to keep people distracted from doing real work.
One caveat I give when I make music posts: Just because I insult music somebody likes, does not mean I am directly insulting that person. A few of my best friends have absolutely horrible tastes in music, which they are entitled to. It just means I probably can't spend more than 30 minutes in a car with them. If someone disagrees with me, because of a rational argument such as "That song has special meaning to me because...." or "I like this song because", I can accept that even that song personally makes me want to jam an icepick in my ear. If someone responds with "I like that song because it's on the radio everyday and everyone else like it" or "shut up u suk that song rox" then I will laugh at them and be mercilessly sarcastic to them.
A good friend once dubbed me "The Santa Claus of Drinking Music" because I always had whatever anyone wanted to hear and generally knew everything most others played. It's a nickname that has stuck and I'm quite proud of it.
One caveat I give when I make music posts: Just because I insult music somebody likes, does not mean I am directly insulting that person. A few of my best friends have absolutely horrible tastes in music, which they are entitled to. It just means I probably can't spend more than 30 minutes in a car with them. If someone disagrees with me, because of a rational argument such as "That song has special meaning to me because...." or "I like this song because
A good friend once dubbed me "The Santa Claus of Drinking Music" because I always had whatever anyone wanted to hear and generally knew everything most others played. It's a nickname that has stuck and I'm quite proud of it.
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