Thoughts and Musings on Faith, Music, Family, Life

A great fall for new music

I follow a couple of music blogs and was amazed back in the summer with all of the new music that was set to debut this fall - and not just any new music, but new music from some pretty notable bands and artists.  So I set reminders to myself to check 'em out on Spotify when the release date arrived.  All of which has made for an enjoyable musical journey the past few months.

Here's what I've been listening to, and why I humbly suggest that you do the same:

 

RYAN ADAMS - ASHES AND FIRE

It's been a wild couple of years for the Jacksonville NC-born boy.  Got married to Mandy Moore (yep, that Mandy Moore), moved to L.A., was diagnosed with an inner ear disease that causes vertigo and hearing loss, and quit writing music for over a year.  If you've kept up with Adams' prolific music career - typically releasing 2-3 solid albums a year - you know that any time he takes off from music is a big deal.

The result of that time away, though, is perhaps some of Adams' most honest work in Ashes and Fire.  I don't know if it was the inner ear thing or some calming effect that marriage had on him, but this album is chill in a very, very good way.  I've always loved Ryan's rocking edge, but the soft and soulful side brings out a whole other side to him that I really dig.  "Lucky You," "Invisible Riverside" and "Come Home" are notable, but honestly, this whole album is solid from start to finish.  Definitely worth your time. And while you're at it, check out this studio interview on WFUV.  The guy's got a killer sense of humor to go with his vocal and songwriting chops.

 

SWITCHFOOT - VICE VERSES

Relevant Magazine did an article on Switchfoot over the summer and christened their new album as "the reinviention of Switchfoot."  That may be taking it a bit far, as lead singer/songwriter Jon Foreman's thin soaring tenor and the standard Switchfoot guitars still define the band's sound.  That being said, something is different this time around.  There's a little more of an R&B element to the tunes, and the rhythm sections definitely shines more than it has before. 

I salute Jon and the boys for going in this slightly different direction.  One of Switchfoot's criticisms over the years is that one album sounds like all the others.  With Vice Verses they've not totally thrown the baby out with the bathwater, but they've diverted course just a hair and went where it took them.  It may not be a reinvention, but it's something different; and the band seems to feel good about the change.  I'm betting you will too.

 

WILCO - THE WHOLE LOVE

From the first three seconds of the album you know - this is not the same old Wilco album.  Of course, like Ryan Adams, there really isn't such a thing, is there?  Grounded in Americana alt-rock/country, they've had no problem going out of the box, and every time it's worked for them - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot being a perfect example.

In some ways, The Whole Love is reminiscient of their 2002 groundbreaking album.  Singer/songwriter/unrivaled band leader Jeff Tweedy once again takes standard instruments (guitars, bass, drums) and and seamlessly merges them with weird electronica stuff so you have a hard time picturing them apart from each other.  If anything, this album is a testimony to Tweedy's songwriting and the ability of the rest of the band to add multiple dimensions to the consistent foundation he lays. "Art of Almost" sets the stage for the album, "Dawned On Me" has a nice bounce to it, and "One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)" is a beautiful song that could easily win the award for "Twelve-minute-song-that-feels-like-less-than-that."

 

COLDPLAY - MYLO XYLOTO

Okay, let's state the obvious: bad album title. These made-up words may have some significance to the band, but that doesn't mean they have to share them with the rest of us.  That being said, the music itself more than makes up for the lame name. It is classic Coldplay - epic tunes with soaring choruses; lots of strings and synths with a good acoustic and piano to keep things grounded.  Even if you don't care for their sound, you have to admit they do it very, very well.

"Paradise" is the song that jumps out the most to me - and to my six-year old, who keeps asking me to play it so he can sing the catchy chorus.  I've learned that if young kids can pick up a song's chorus and want to sing it multiple times, chances are it's a keeper.  "Charlie Brown" is another favorite despite, or maybe because of, the odd name.  "Us Against The World" feels like their attempt to resurrect a "Fix You" feel, and "Princess of China" brings guest performer Rihanna into the picture - not an artist I care for much, but she fits in nicely with the Coldplay song.

Mylo Xyloto doesn't flow quite as well as Viva La Vida, in my humble opinion, but the songs themselves are solid.  Thankfully the album will be remembered for much more than the title.

 

THE GOAT RODEO SESSIONS - CHRIS THILE, YO-YO MA, EDGAR MEYER, STUART DUNCAN

Honestly, I made a note to acquire this album the minute I saw "Chris Thile" and "Yo-Yo Ma" in the same sentence.  Meyer is also a phenomenal bass player.  I hadn't heard of Duncan on the violin, but I have now and won't soon forget him.

The album is mostly instrumentals with each musician taking turns at intricate leads that baffle common understanding.  True to Thile form, the songs wander off in directions that are hard for the listener to anticipate.  And it goes without saying that the performances themselves are phenomenal; each note perfectly placed where they need to be.

Part of the problem Thile encounters, in my opinion, is having to play with fine musicians who nevertheless have a hard time keeping up with him musically.  They do a great job supporting him, but it's obvious he's on a totally different level.  With Duncan, Meyer and Yo-Yo Ma, though, Thile is among kindred spirits; and it shows.  It's a true interplay between four of the greatest musicians of our day.

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There you have it, folks.  So what are your thoughts about these albums, and what other ones would you add to the list?

 

"Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along..."

Much has been said about the death of Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs yesterday.  Even President Obama chimed in with a pretty cool - and probably accurate - insight: "There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

As much as Jobs was known for his innovative gadgets, he was equally known for his marketing prowess.  You can see both in this video clip below (HERE if you don't see it) of his keynote introducing the iPhone. Watch the first ten minutes of this, if nothing else.  It's fascinating to remember all that went into this first generation product. 

What's even more fascinating is realizing that this took place just four years ago.

R.I.P., Steve Jobs. Thanks for everything.

Twenty-five years later...

Just in case you're wondering, there were more in our graduating class.  Lots more; some 350 or so.  We also had more at the reunion itself - around 75, I think - but the crowd started thinning out about fifteen minutes before the cameraman did his thing. Timing is everything.

High school reunions may very well be the grandest of social experiments.  You take a group of people who used to spend six hours a day in the same building for four years, separate them for five, ten, twenty, 25 years, and then throw 'em back together with nametags, food and beverage, and a DJ and see what happens.  I'm surprised there isn't a category in the clinical psychology world for this quinquennial phenomenon.

Twenty-five years after flipping the tassle, and this was my first high school reunion.  I don't remember hearing about the 5th or 10th.  I missed the 20th because I had a gig - although, to be honest, it's very easy to make up excuses.  When you haven't seen folks for years and in the meantime have made a whole other life for yourself - with a wife and kids and a job and a new circle of people around you - part of you wonders what point high school reunions serve.  Other than giving you a chance to see who's changed the most, who's changed the least, and if that guy or gal you thought was so good-looking back in the day still is.

I decided to take the plunge just last week, when the planets aligned in a way they rarely do and the road to Raleigh was paved before me.  I walked into the room at the hotel to the thump-thump of the DJ spinning some 80's dance tune and a room full of grown adults.  And while there were a few name tags I had to look at, I was amazed at how many of them jumped back into my consciousness after a 25-year slumber: Becky. Brant. Chris. Ashley. Lee. Lisa. Stuart. Beth. Michael. Monica. Greg. Judson. Maybe my long-term memory isn't shot quite yet.

I was a show choir geek in high school, so I mostly ran with the music crowd.  To a degree the reunion reflected that; people sort of naturally falling back into their old patterns.  And yet it was kind of neat how we all were genuinely glad to see and catch up with everyone, 80's cliques notwithstanding.  In our conversations we covered the usual topics in recapping the last quarter of a century: spouses, kids, jobs, new hometowns.  Most of the stories shared were good ones, but a few reflected other fortunes: the classmate recently divorced from her husband; the guy who just lost his job and doesn't know what he'll do next.  As much as reunions are about our past, they're also about our present too.  People at all different locations on the journey, brought together in the same room for one night.

At one point I found myself in a spot where I could see everyone in front of me - everyone talking to someone, laughing and smiling, hugging and shaking hands.  I couldn't hear anything they were saying over the thump thump, but I didn't really need to.  This was a visual experience, not an audible one.  For nearly two minutes I just stood there and smiled to myself, soaking in the joy of that room.

And it reminded me of something one of my English teachers said 25 years before.  I don't have a lot of memories of her, other than her room was right above the auditorium and she constantly complained about the 6th period girls chorus below that drowned out her lectures.  But her bright and shining moment came one day in a discussion about the character interplay in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. Quite surprisingly she offered this tidbit of wisdom: "Every person you come into contact with in your life, no matter how short or how long you know them, every person becomes a part of who you are."

I've carried that thought with me every day in the 25 years since.  It even found its way into one of the songs on my last album.  And as I stood there this past Saturday night at my high school reunion, among some people I'd kept in touch with over the years (thank you, Facebook) and others I hadn't seen since we were handed diplomas, I realized that my complaining English teacher was exactly right.  Those people in that room were a part of me, all of them. Always. And I'm the person I am today, in part, because of them. 

And maybe that's ultimately why we go to reunions.  We go not only to reconnect with other people, but in a deeper sense we go to reconnect with ourselves.

If that's the case, then mission accomplished on both counts.

A much better sign

Honestly, this is an entire sermon in four words. Plus, the bowtie and white socks are killer.