although i wouldn't be surprised that i'm missing a keyboard. or a screen. and that apple will fix it as a courtesy to me in a one-time-only deal.
anyway, until then, here's some music i've been listening to, courtesy to having a freelance gig with a shared i-tunes server. these are bands i've been meaning to check out but just haven't. listening to full albums that i normally wouldn't has become a chore now that i'm not living a couple of blocks from amoeba records.
and yes, some of these bands are old, but i've never really given them much of a shot until this week. and no, please don't send me an e-mail recommending me to listen to the rolling stones. i've heard them.
fall-out boy - although i've heard of them and heard of the hype bestowed upon them by jay-z, i just figured that they're just one of those bands with minimal talent and a young fan base. i was surprised. they're like all these other faux-punk bands out there nowadays, except with an ear for melody. i was seriously shocked about it. i will say that i couldn't listen to their whole album. that music gets repetitive after three or four songs. but as one offs? not so bad.
of montreal - now here's a band i really dig. very melodic, very harmonious, very different. they kinda put me in a beach boys/radiohead/franz ferdinand/new pornographers type mood, which isn't such a bad mood after all. their album names and songs don't really make much sense, but what was most shocking - and when i say shocking, i mean i couldn't believe my frigging ears - was that the crappy outback steakhouse jingle was a version of one of their songs. but here's the thing: their version is absolutely gorgeous and artistic - the exact opposite of outback. seriously, it's worth a full listen. it's called "wraith pinned to the mist and other games" on their album "the sundlandic twins". it's startling to the highest degree.
and yes, i know, i'm slow to the game.
lily allen - again, i wasn't expecting this. there's something really playfully quirky to her music. i can see her getting tired really quick, but for a first listen, i really enjoyed myself. there's a lot of stuff going on here.
the fratellis - well, you gotta love a scottish band who use the italian word for "brothers" even though they aren't related. and, picking up on the whole franz ferdinand thing, this should have been their follow-up album. a smart and unique voice and accent you don't normally hear in lead vocals backed up by simple and clean melodies. sometimes, that equation is all you really need.
also, if you're looking for music to write to, or just music to fill a background space, music that's melodic and tells a story without any use of vocals or words, music that's well cared for and well though out, then check out ratatat. they're much more interesting than anything you'll hear on the radio nowadays. funny how a little artistry can tilt things like that.
and there's this:
modest mouse's new album "we were dead before the ship even sank" - now this is how to improve from one album to another. the mouse just keeps on getting better - although much of that has to do with old smiths guitarist and legend johnny marr now on board. there's not one song that sticks out, but that's just a matter of all of them being pretty damn good. worth a listen if you are so inclined, but beware: you'll find yourself coming back to it.
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