http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/ en Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:58:02 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.head-fi.org/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/ http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/157-another-big-surprise-rem-live.html Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:22:24 GMT I'll say it again, one of the things that I really value about services like Rhapsody is that I get to try out some new music prior to buying it. In theory, that ought to result in fewer music purchases...but that's not how it's working out. Truth is, I buy more now because for every album that I wouldn't buy because I listened first, I find 2-3 that I either wouldn't have known about or would have assumed I wasn't interested.

Such is the case with one of my more recent purchases, REM Live.

I'm a huge REM fan from way back. When I assemble the soundtrack of my college days, REM is central to it. I bought every one of their first albums, all the way up through Monster...and then I gradually became less interested in their subsequent releases. I had pretty much written them off as "DONE" and was content to listen to their older stuff as part of my ever-changing "re-current" rotation.

One evening, I was in my favorite local record store (Dearborn Music...anyone in the greater Detroit area who hasn't been there...go!!), and came accross this album. Out of curiosity, I picked it up...and didn't even KNOW half of the songs on the album. HMMM....I shrugged my shoulders and retured it to the rack. I mean, why buy a live album by a group that you've pretty much written off for their new work when they do few of their tracks that you know and like?

Well, ordinarily, that's where the story ends...but not this time.

About two weeks ago, I'm listening to Rhapsody and see it come up on a list of new releases. I figured I'd download it to my iRiver and give it a quick listen at work the next day. Well, from the first tune ("I Took Your Name"), it takes off with great energy...the kind I remember from a couple of REM concerts that I was fortunate enough to attend back in the day. HMMM...this is promising...

None of this energy was lost with the next tune, "So Fast, So Numb". It slows down a bit for the next few songs, but to great effect. Actually, "Boy in the Well" is one of my favorite tracks...simultaneously moving at a measured and frantic pace (as it seems most of my favorite REM tracks do).

I've noticed something interesting about this album: the lack of a lot of songs that I know well has has the effect of piquing my interest in it even more. Maybe there is something to going into a listening of a new album without raised expectations or preconceived notions of how things ought to be. In fact, it seems that the tunes that I care for least (which is a bit strong, as I generally like the album a lot) are those that I already know. That said, one of the real gems of the album is "Everybody Hurts", which is one of my favorites (the reason is pretty personal, but I will say that it kept someone pretty important in my life going at a time when things were really falling to pieces). I also very much enjoyed their rendition of "Drive"...I've always enjoyed the sort of David Essex meets Lou Reed feel it brings. :)

Some of my other favorites are "The Ascent of Man", "I Wanted to be Wrong", "Walk Unafraid", and the crowd pleasing closing number, "Man on the Moon" (probably because I love that Mott the Hoople merited a mention :) ).

The CD also comes with a DVD, which I've yet to give a listen (viewing?)...I'll try to do so sometime soon.

A VERY pleasant surprise...I guess there's still some life in Michael Stipe and Co. I'll certainly look forward to that next studio release moreso than I would have. In the mean time, this is a CD well worth checking out.

Enjoy... :D ]]> elrod-tom http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/157-another-big-surprise-rem-live.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/153-yes-i-really-am-old.html Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:05:46 GMT :eek: I am lucky enough to be able to listen to music pretty much all day every day at work. Only occasionally, when things get REALLY hairy, do... :eek:

I am lucky enough to be able to listen to music pretty much all day every day at work. Only occasionally, when things get REALLY hairy, do I have to take off the cans (lately the AKG K-81DJ). Of course, I'm not the only one...many of my coworkers do the same thing (well, they don't have the good taste in gear that I have, but oh well... :) ).

I keep a stack of 60 or so 4.7gb dvd-r's in my cube, with 320K files burned onto them. If you figure your garden variety CD reduces to about 100mb at 320K, well that gives you some idea how many CD's I own.

Invariably, someone will ask me "why do you NEED that much music...you can't possibly listen to it all". After acknowledging that they have a point, I give them the why: I can pick the perfect song for a given moment any time I want it...:)

Well, as crazy as it sounds, I can't always do this. This is why I keep buying more, and why I find music services like Rhapsody to be invaluable. Not only can I try newer music out prior to buying it, but I find myself repeatedly getting sucked into listening to stuff I've not heard in years.

When I was a teenager, I listened to a lot of what was (at the time) called "heavy metal"...stuff like Kiss - Destroyer, the first Van Halen album, Aerosmith's Get Your Wings, and various other stuff. Back in the day, however, there was a lot of 80's power pop floating around...they used to call in AOR - Album Oriented Rock - in the FM radio business. Tonight was one of those nights where I got sucked back in!!

I'm looking through the new additions in Rhapsody, and I notice Donnie Iris. He was pretty much a two hit wonder back in the day, but very popular in the midwest. I happened to catch his act in a dive bar in East Lansing, and the show was incredible. Lots of good memories...

Well, Rhapsody has a listing of Similar Artists and Similar Albums, which sends me ping-ponging all over the place for 2-3 tunes at a time. Kansas, Journey, I even found myself listening to (please...don't beat me up TOO MUCH for this one) Loverboy. :eek:

As an aside, how did they ever get as popular as they were back then with those goofy outfits? It looked like someone crossed Olivia Newton-John from her "Physical" days with pre-surgical Michael Jackson (remember the red jackets?) :eek:

OK...so from there, we're on the upswing again. Right now it's REO Speedwagon. I had a couple of favorite REO albums growing up - Nine Lives (if any of you remember the cover, it was the next best thing to Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream cover), You Can Tune a Piano (but you Can't Tuna Fish), and my personal favorite from back in the day, the live album You Get What You Play For. Now I've not owned any of these albums in years...not since I sold off most of my old vinyl. I'm probably not going to go out and buy them all over again, but here I am listening to them on a whim, and enjoying every minute of it.

Is it Hi-Fidelity (no pun intended)? Well, Rhapsody is 192K, upsampled at my DAC...not awful, but not like CD quality sound. Do I care in this instance? Are you kidding...I used to listen to most of these songs on a ****ty car stereo!! I don't know that they sounded much better in my best vinyl rig from back then (which was decent for the day). It does make me smile that I'm listening to these tunes with the same AKG K240M's that I did back in the day. :)

Well, I'm off to listen to Eddie Money now...enjoy. :D ]]> elrod-tom http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/153-yes-i-really-am-old.html http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/137-big-surprise-babyshambles-shotters-nation.html Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:28:11 GMT Well, this is my first installment in my new blog. As I stated above, my main objective is to introduce folks to music that they might not find on... Well, this is my first installment in my new blog. As I stated above, my main objective is to introduce folks to music that they might not find on their own. To this end, I submit for your approval, Babyshambles' newest CD, Shotter's Nation.

Now I don't mind telling you that I thumbed my nose at this one right off the bat. I was never all that crazy about The Libertines, and my first listen to Babyshambles was their (IMHO very weak) first album, on Rhapsody. Plus, let's be frank, it's Pete Doherty. The guy is a living, breathing (well, at this posting anyway) cautionary tale about the perils of drug and alcohol abuse...the boy makes Keith Richard look like Donnie Osmond by comparison.

Then I read the rave reviews in Uncut and Mojo. Still I was unconvinced...these same mags gave the same kind of rave reviews to the last Johanna Newsom album. :eek:

So I thought I'd look it up on Rhapsody...and what do you know, there it was. I gave it a first listen one day at work, and I couldn't believe it. WOW!! What a surprise THIS was!!

What I heard was a well-crafted album that evoked some of the best qualities of The Kinks and The Clash (without the overtly political stuff), with a bit of The Smiths thrown in for good measure. The album flows very well, and has no real klunkers IMHO (and I tend to think that every good album has at least one or two klunkers). The band is tight, and the album well produced..everything I was absolutely not expecting.

I can't recommend this album enough.

My favorite tracks thus far:

1 - Carry on up the Morning
2 - Delivery
7 - Unstookie Titled
11 - Deft Left Hand
12 - Lost Art of Murder

If you have Rhapsody, track it down and give it a listen. I think you'll like it. ]]> elrod-tom http://www.head-fi.org/forums/blogs/elrod-tom/137-big-surprise-babyshambles-shotters-nation.html