Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine

While a bit country leaning, John Prine has always been one of my favorite musicians. For those not familiar, to me he is the country folk equivalent of Bob Dylan. When I discovered that a number of musicians that I like or know such as Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Connor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and My Morning Jacket had collaborated on a John Prine Tribute CD, I immediately picked it up.

I was completely blown away by the fact that the big ticket draws (as mentioned above) were actually not the highlights for the CD. The song Justin Vernon did was "meh." The song Connor Oberst did was more in the vein of his new "Mystic Valley" project which is ok, but I still consider it lesser than his Bright Eyes style material. The My Morning Jacket cover just annoyed me.

Justin Townes Earls did an awesome job with Far From Me, one of my absolute favorite sad songs about inevitability and impermanence of relationships. The only thing I wish he hadn't done was slam on the low "bass" string of what should be a finger style guitar part. Listening closely I can't pick out the rest of the part, so I'm not sure what he was thinking. Comparing this version to the original 1970's version its very different, but its more similar to how Prine is playing it now. The rest of what Justin Townes Earls does is not exactly my cup of tea, but some people may like him.

This compilation also introduced me to the Avett Brothers, something for which I am eternally grateful (even if they have gone off the pop deep end lately). They do a fantastic job with Spanish Pipedream. It's been a bit of a theme song for me whenever I think about all the city livin I have been doing lately. I absolutely love these guys and will be writing more about them soon. In case you're wondering, this and this is more how I think of these guys.

Old Crow Medicine Show had some big shoes to fill covering "Angel From Montgomery" one of John Prine's most well known and covered songs. They didn't screw it up, but compared to musicians like Bonny Rait, Ben Harper and even John Denver they just didn't hold up.

Those Darlin's are an absolutely nuts mostly girl alt-country band crossbred with a low fi indy band. They do a fun little cover of "Lets Talk Dirty in Hawaiian" that just has to be heard to be described. Its a bit out of place for what they normally do, but so far, I've been loving everything these gals do.

From time to time I have been known to pick up compilations when I am looking to find some new artists. In this case, not only did I get a good CD full of songs I like, but its also introduced me to some great up and coming artists.

Author's Note: If this seems a bit rushed, it's because the CD I had planned to review is about a week or so late from Amazon. If this happens again you might just be lucky enough to hear how I feel about musicians I am supposed to love, but don't.

Fleet Foxes (Self Titled)

Thanks to some constant encouragement from a few people that I know, I finally picked up the first Fleet Foxes Album. I had been very hesitant to do so as the quick preview I did on Amazon was so mellow and harmonious I was worried I would fall asleep listening to it. I could not have been more pleasantly surprised.

Its true that the Fleet Foxes describe themselves as "Baroque-Pop" music. This phrase to me screams stuffy chamber music and madrigals, but in truth it means carefully laid out harmonies and riff driven guitar parts laid over peaceful soundscapes. There's also a heavy modern influence in the sound that could be compared to bands like Band of Horses, Bon Iver, Rogue Wave, and Grizzly Bear.

For a first sampling/ introduction track I really dig the song "White Winter Hymnal."



It's simple, short, but it does a great job capturing the essence of the band. It starts out with a pseudo-round vocals then slowly layers entrances of voices and instrumentation that build a pyramid into the full song. Listening closely you hear several guitar parts (rythm AG, rythm EG and lead EG) all layered neatly so as to not distract from the melody of the song. The drums themselves are minimal with only the occasional tom hit and tambourine, but they do an excellent job accenting what is happening in the song. By the time the song ends the pyramid built up has collapsed and you have returned from your journey back to where you started all in the course of 2.5 minutes. Pretty impressive.

One of the distinct things about the Fleet Foxes sound is that everything is drenched in reverb, which lends to an ambient enveloping feeling in their songs that slowly absorbs you into their world. By the time the album ends you feel completely entrenched in the sonic journey that has taken you to another time, place and space.

So why was I so surprised? The album actually has a pretty good balance and energy to it that takes some thought to pull off. Of course, the horror of Muzak was first imposed upon us in the 1950s and has been ever since, so this is a very well understood field that should be hard to screw up, but I digress. My point being I have a hard time understanding why so many artists these days have trouble sequencing their albums. Fleet Foxes got it just right. I could just call out tracks I like, but for these guys, I like to experience the album as a whole. To cut it up would be taking away from what these guys are doing.

U2 and Lenny Kravitz @ Angels Stadium (6.17.11)

So on Thursday a friend found himself with an extra Red Zone ticket to see U2 play at the Angles Stadium of Anaheim Los Angeles California Orange County USA. I, of course, jumped at the chance. For those not familiar, Red Zone tickets guarantee you access to a special area close to the stage as well as the GA area in front of the stage. With the benefit of a short line and my recent exercise kick, I was able to get to the front row just to the left of the stage.


Before I talk about the concert I should mention that these Red Zone tickets are very controversial with the hardcore fans who pay the GA fee rather than pony up the extra dough. The GA fans essentially line up hours (and I have heard even days) in advance to get a chance at getting close to the stage. I definitely got a great spot because of my red zone ticket, but totally understand why the fans were cheesed off. Still, they should be cheesed off at the band not the people who paid for the tickets.

So, being in such a great spot, I was able to take some AMAZING shots of both Lenny Kravitz and U2.


It was the first time in 15 years or so that I have seen Lenny Kravitz, and while it's a different energy, he still had a lot of it. I was surprised at the number of songs he played that I knew. Fly Away, Are you Gonna Go My Way (which Bono slipped a weird ref in to later), Let Love Rule, It Ain't Over Till its Over and a bunch of other songs I remember but don't know the names of.


Typically I despise large concerts. There's such a disconnect between the band and the audience that its essentially just listening to the album really loud while crammed into a small space. This is never the case with U2. I saw them on their last big tour in 2005. That time my seat was as far from the stage as you could get (back wall top row of the venue). Even still, the visuals were amazing and the camera work so good you felt involved in the show. U2 360 was a bit different, as for the most part I was so close I could not see the elaborate stage/screens. There was a section where the stage came down that was cool and I am sure from further back it would have been even more impressive.

One thing a bit odd was that they played David Bowie's "Space Oddity" before the show and immediately after was "Rocket Man." Not sure what the tie in was to other than maybe the fact that the stage looks like the LAX spaceship or Gabrielle Giffords' Husband who made an appearance.

Mark Kelly's appearance was something I heard about before, so I am gathering it is something they have worked in to every segment of the tour. Essentially they had him holding up the words to "Beautiful Day" in space. I kinda felt a bit pandered too, but its all part of the U2 pageantry so it was still cool. When I'm a big rock star I'd like to have a guy from space showing off the words too my songs too.

The band was amazingly tight and on cue. Almost too much so. The one major glitch was that the guitar level on "I'll Go Crazy..." was low at the start. As soon as the Edge walked away from the pedals, everything was back to normal. I hate to be the suspicious guy wondering how much was pre-recorded, but I can say that I heard enough wireless dropouts/pops in the vox etc that I feel better about how much was live. "Go Crazy" I think had a lot of pre-recorded music though as it allowed Larry Mullen, Jr. to get out into the crowd playing djimbe.


It's notable that "I'll go crazy..." is one of the only songs off the most recent album they played, and thank god for that. Every so often U2 puts out a crap album. Given that they've put out so many good albums (Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All that you cant leave behind, How to Dismantle an atomic bomb) I forgive them.

In one of the visual highlights of the night, Bono wore some crazy laser jacket and was swinging from a suspended microphone during the batman soundtrack song "Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me." Not such a huge fan of the song, but all the lights were pretty cool. I shot a video, but sadly I was trying to shoot with my other camera at the same time, so its a bit off.



For me the best part of the show was the encore during which they played "One" and "Where the streets have no name" two of my favorite songs. It was the perfect culmination to an excellent evening. With that, I will leave you with a few more photos.








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This is a complete side note, but Bono has definitely put on a few Katie Courics. Feel free to watch that later if you haven't. Don't know if its from the backiotomy Bono had a while back or the fact that U2 has been in existence longer than I have.

Bon Iver (Self Titled)

So this review started as a conversation with a co-worker about the new Bon Iver Album. She was kind enough to inform me it's up on NPR (pre-release) so check it out. After a first listen, I can say I am disappointed. Everything I like about Bon Iver's first album is gone. This should have been my first clue.

When listening to songs like "Calgary" and "Hinnom, TX" the phrases "overproduced" and "disappeared up his own..." come to mind. Really it's just too much synth and not enough of that underwater warm acoustic sound that permeated the first album. Apparently no one told Vernon that Beirut has the market cornered for non-guitar indy albums.

To be fair (and less snarky), my issue is I had a grand vision of where the guy was going and he totally went the other way. When I heard the first album and follow up EP, I thought “give it bit more percussion and do a few more up tempo songs to mix with some of the slow and this guy is gonna have it.” Sadly Vernon instead decided to create an electronic soundscape background album.

Don’t get me wrong, I sorta like the new album, and I completely respect artist that venture in new directions, I am just expressing my disappointment for what could have been. It’s like going to Paris and ordering “un sandwiche avec beaucoup de jambon et une tasse de vin” and getting grilled cheese with a coke... You’re still in Paris, right?

I tried for a while to find songs that I like on the new album. I did so because I want to talk positively about this guy because of how good his first album is. There are bits of "Minnisota, WI" that I dig, namely the arpeggiated guitar sounds (ahem... stereo hp eargasm), but I can't get past the horns and Phoneix style synths. "Towers" is also kind of cool, but the slide guitars and country drum beats feel out of place with the rest of the album.

Truth be told, none of the songs are terrible, and I will probably still buy the album. I just hope that album three will be more too my liking. BTW if you don't have anything from Bon Iver, start with "For Emma, Forever Ago." It's one of my favorites.

As an interesting post-script, I did not read the NPR review until after finishing my own, and find it interesting that we both called the guy out for that odd performance on Jimmy Fallon...

Noah and the Whale

Got Noah and the Whale's first album recently. This band appears to be evolving into another Death Cab knockoff, so I carefully selected "Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down" as my starting sample point.

This is one of the better structured albums I have run into in a while. Ebbs and flows quite nicely. Not perfect (gets a bit squirrely at the end), but still pretty good. As far as I am concerned, the best album rather than collection of song's is Badly Drawn Boy's - Hour of Bewilderbeast.

The first few tracks are so upbeat they just make you happy to be alive. Don't get me wrong, the subject matter might not be the happiest, but sometimes its just a feel... The video for Shape of My Heart says it all:



This track has heavy Beatles circa Sgt Pepper's overtones but keeps enough of a respectful distance to call it their own. Two Atoms in a Molecule reminds me (strangely) of Neutral Milk Hotel's "King of Carrot Flowers pt 1," but they are nothing alike. I also dig "Rocks and Daggers" for its country shuffle beats and backing vocals.

Speaking of which, I absolutely love Laura Marling's voice. She should be more prominently used or do her own stuff... Oh wait... She does. Disappointingly though, her most recent album sounds like Mumford and Sons (she was apparently dating the singer from this band for a while). Don't get me wrong, Mumford is a band I like, I just liked them better when they were Mumford and Sons. Give her time, she's young... eventually she'll find her own sound... but I digress...

The track on this album that really hit it for them is 5 years time. It's a pretty catchy poppy track so I can see why it got them noticed. Fun Wes Anderson style vid too... Although if you listen to the words, its almost sugary enough to give a man diabetes.

If I were looking for something new I would definately pick up this album.

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

Gahhh! I so wanted "Animal!" to be a better album than "Not Animal." Gotta say... I'm disappointed... Ever since I tried to figure out the reason Margot and the Nuclear So and So's put out two albums with similar titles and covers, I have been fascinated by this band.

For those of you not familiar, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's got into a fight with their label over their 2008 sophomore album "Animal!" and came up with a unique compromise. Namely they let their label release a homogenized version of the album on CD calling it "Not Animal." "Animal!," the album the band wanted was only released on vinyl and has a very different track selection.

Now I don't deny that "Not Animal" is a bit overproduced and too Death Cabby for me (dont get me started on Ben Gibbard), but it just has a better overall energy. Not to mention my favorite song on the album "Broadripple is Burning" didn't make the cut on "Animal!"

"Animal!" is a much darker, slower album. A lot of the chord progressions are a bit more challenging then its poppy sibling's. Songs like I Am A Lightening Rod are a perfect example of such. It's clearly experimental, oscillating wildly between dissonant and consonant sections... I also really like "There's talk of mine shafts," not so much focusing on the lyrics, just dig the thoughtful thick string section.

A wise music professor once taught me that you cannot play fast without slow, sad without happy and start in the middle so you don't shoot your wad all at once. I seem to recall a fantastic author having similar theories... That's my complaint about "Animal!" namely that its relatively monotone with a few exceptions.

For those interested in "Animal!" you can listen to it in its entirety here.

I think this is a case where compromise might have resulted in a better album from both rather than two that only kind of work. If you have both you can mix and match. That said, I'm glad Margot and the Nuclear So and So's stuck to their artistic integrity even though it wasn't my thing. Too often you hear bands being overpowered by their producers and forced to put out crap that sounds like everyone else... or ben gibbard...

As a side note, the video below is one of the reasons I fell in love with this band...



Such an awesome idea, it just makes me sad its already been done :)

OZOMATLI! @ The Santa Ana Street Fair (5.1.11)

Went to see Ozomatli play the Santa Ana Cinco de Mayo Street Fair today (5/1/11). It wasn't really advertized in English that they were playing in an attempt to keep it within the community, but I got the tip off from someone playing earlier in the day. Walked around the fair a bit, got some tacos and beer as was expected of me then went to the show.

As always, the band was full of energy, dancing, jumping around and literally scaling the stage scafolding. This show was a bit different from their norm as it was cinco de mayo so the material was oriented towards that crowd more. At times there were throngs of people salsa dancing away to the latin beats. They did still play some funk and hip hop oriented material as well as some of their hits.

The one thing that supprised me was that they did not jump into the crowd and do an impropmtu drum circle as the frequently do. I suspect this had a lot to do with the organziation of the fair and the schedule. Disapointing but not the end of the world. Still happy to have been there.


As a side note, there was just something surreal about walking away from the show and seeing a TV at a booth blasting the news about Osama. I take no joy in any loss of life as I am a pacifist through and through, but it is hard not to be happy the world is free of such a horrible person.