With a Fine-toothed Comb

Strawberry Girls - DIY-ing it right

2012-02-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Ok so this isn't straight nepotism, but somewhat. My bro-in-law Ben is the drummer of this instrumental prog rock band called Strawberry Girls from a small town called Salinas, CA (home of John Steinbeck), known mainly for its oddly thriving Hardcore scene. In that regard, they are somewhat of a diamond in the rough, but a force to be reckoned with nonetheless. Ben Rosett started writing songs with Zachary Garren (formerly of Dance Gavin Dance), and then brought his former band-mate Ian Jennings along to play bass. They've already released a solid EP entitled Italian Ghosts, and now have put two of their newer songs up for preview on Bandcamp (see below). They put on a great live show, and work hard to make stuff happen despite being from a smaller town. Besides all that, they're great dudes. If they come through your area, check them out.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://strawberrygirls.bandcamp.com/album/do-peace-ep"&amp;gt;Do Peace (EP) by Strawberry Girls&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Best Albums of 2011

2012-01-17T17:57:00.000-08:00

I've been making these lists for a few years now. It's a really good way to see how my taste has changed, for better or worse. With the advent of Spotify, music is so easy to find and is so readily available for digesting that filtering the year's music down to a few selections is increasingly difficult. What's even more difficult is figuring out what "good music" is when everything in the "independent" music world is starting to sound the same. Before this turns into a full-on rant, here are my choices, for one reason or another:

Full-length-

1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
2. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
3. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
4. Antlers - Burst Apart
5. White Denim - D
6. Wilco - The Whole Love
7. My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind
8. Nerves Junior - As Bright As Your Night Light
9. Atlas Sound - Parallax
10. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
11. The Dodos - No Color
12. Dirty Projectors + Bjork - Mount Wittenberg Orca
13. Thrice - Major/Minor (because it's their last for "an indefinite period of time")
14. Tune-yards - w h o k i l l
15. yMusic - Beautiful Mechanical

EPs-

1. Alabama Shakes - (s/t)
2. Conveyor - Sun Ray

Stuff From Last Year I Haven't Even Listened To Yet:

-Feist - Metals
-M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
-Son Lux - We Are Rising
-Mute Math - Odd Soul
-Wye Oak - Civilian
-Destroyer - Kaputt

New Track on Repeat: Conveyor - "Ellery (Carol no.4)"

2011-12-11T21:33:00.001-08:00

For a band that has not yet made the statement of a full-length record, Brooklyn's Conveyor has a very mature voice. After releasing their first EP "Sun Ray" on bright orange vinyl and being named "The Best Band to See With a Hangover" at CMJ in New York, they have released this short EP entitled "Three Carols," available on cassette or download for $3 on bandcamp. The band states that this is the first of a four release series on cassette, with only 25 of each release being made.
The present track, the EP's opener, is one of the more elegant folk songs I've heard in a while. Both the musical mood and lyrics convey (pun intended) a sense of hope and eager anticipation. Conveyor epitomizes this DIY generation of independent music, but they do it with a lot more talent and class than most. Download the track below for free, and go to their bandcamp site, where the rest of their music is available for free download.

What do you think?

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://conveyor.bandcamp.com/track/ellery-carol-no-4"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Ellery (Carol No. 4) by Conveyor&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

New Track on Repeat: Weatherbox - "Mountain"

2011-12-09T00:24:00.001-08:00

It's hard not to be offended by Weatherbox's music. My first listen of their 2011 EP "Follow the Rattle of the Afghan Guitar" nearly caused me to write them off entirely--their abrasive style makes it feel like popping a musical blister. While this initially caught me off guard in a negative way, it then occurred to me that they are doing exactly what they want to do. That refreshing feeling when you come across an artist who doesn't give a rip about riding the trend wave, and creates a unique interactive experience for the listener.
The present track starts out resembling a sound check, then slowly evolves and intensifies with the vocal style and eventually hits you in the mouth. Give it a try.

Nylon Vinyl

2011-01-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

If you like Latin Gospel Funk, or didn't even know that was a thing, check this out:

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://nylonvinyl.bandcamp.com/album/future-silk"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;future silk by nylon vinyl&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

The Best of 2010 - Music (subject to revision)

2011-01-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

Top 10:

1. Reign of Kindo - This is What Happens

2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

3. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

4. White Denim - last day of summer

5. The National - High Violet

6. Sufjan Stevens - Age of Adz

7. The Morning Benders - Big Echo

8. Owen Pallett - Heartland

9. Efterklang - Magic Chairs

10. Beach House - Teen Dream

Honorable Mentions:
Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Janelle Monae - The Archandroid

Best EP:
Kilimanjaro - EP 2

Best Folk Records (Because I like folk, and none of my Top 10 were folk):
First Aid Kit - The Big Black & The Blue
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

Biggest Disappointment:
Menomena - Mines

Best of 2009 that I didn't know about until 2010:
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

Could do without it:
Vampire Weekend - Contra

Eureka!

2010-12-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be impulsive (I know, shocking) and say that I've found one of my favorite new bands of the year.

White Denim <-- Click it!

"In The Parlance of Our Times..."

2010-12-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is a great blog speaking frankly about having wisdom and humility regarding a biblical response to post-modernity, and the interaction between followers of Jesus and culture in general. Click here.

I hope it provokes some good reflection! :-)

-Isaac

We Celebrate Things

2010-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

On the 3rd night of Hanukkah my Jew love gave to me...

Eight Crazy Nights

A little illumination

Passionate People Making a Difference

2010-12-07T12:04:00.000-08:00

The First of Many?

2010-11-18T22:05:00.000-08:00

Blogging is a good tool.

I'm a verbal processor, which means I come to understand things about myself and what I think about important matters better when I'm able to talk about them. The problem is that on the way to that place of self-actualization I often say stupid things that are not constructive. In other words, my mouth needs an Editor. Fortunately for me there is such a thing as the "Blog." I hope to publish thoughts that come to me while my mind grapes are fermenting, with the hope that they will allow me to understand God's world better. Maybe they'll help you too.

In addition I'll be posting interesting things like music I'm listening to (see below), or food I've made, etc. Please humor me and forgive my snobbery :)

Self-abasingly yours,
Isaac

Currently listening to: The Middle East

Check these guys out. They're from Australia. Eclectic, experimental and soothing. (Thanks to Giselle)