Simple Randomness

A Couple of Good New Songs

So for the last couple of years I’ve honestly been disappointed with a lot of the new music that’s been coming out.  It seems like there just wasn’t a lot of good stuff coming out for quite some time.  Mostly just a bunch of guys that couldn’t sing.

But the last couple of months I’ve been seeing some better stuff come out.  And it’s refreshing!  So here are a couple that I’m really enjoying lately:

Thriving Ivory - Angels on the Moon

One of the local radio stations started really promoting these guys a few months ago.  At first I didn’t really know what to think of their unique voice, but it grew on me.  Sorta reminded me of the uniqueness of Our Lady Peace back in the day.  Anyway, I actually bought this album and it’s one of the best I’ve bought in a long time.  Lot’s of good songs on the CD, but Angels on the Moon is definitely one of the best.

The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight

As far as I know this one is pretty new, but it has quickly grown on me.  Just a good song!  I don’t know anything about the rest of the album, but I’m really liking this song.

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

Another one that I can’t say much about the whole album, but this song has also really grown on me.  The guy has a good voice and I just overall like this song a lot.

It’s been refreshing to hear some good new music coming out.  Any other suggestions?

Joe Satriani - “Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock” Review

So for my birthday one of the presents that my wife got me was a the newest CD from Joe Satriani called Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock.  This is my second Joe Satriani CD and I’m really enjoying it!

The other CD I have is Crystal Planet, which I think might be a little better than this newest album.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re both really good but there are things about Crystal Planet that I like better.  It’s amazing the changes after 10 years (these two cd’s were made ten years apart).

Highlights from the CD would be:

• Musterion
• Professor Satchafunkilus
• Revelation
• Come On Baby
• Diddle-Y-A-Doo-Dat (except for the intro, kinda pointless and weird)
• Andalusia

All of the songs are good, but I like those ones the best.  So this cd was a great addition to my Satriani collection, which now amounts to a whopping 2 cds!

I’m Liking Playlist.com!

So I’ve heard about Playlist.com before, but never really messed with it.  So as I’ve been exploring my musical tastes I’ve come back to the fact that I work best lately when listening to instrumental rock.

Since I don’t have a lot of instrumental rock (yet), I decided that the easiest way to listen to this kind of music was either Pandora or Playlist.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pandora, but one thing I really like about Playlist.com is that you can choose the songs you want to listen to and just create a playlist (hence the name, clever huh?).

So now presenting to the world my Joe Satriani playlist from Playlist.com!  Enjoy!

Listening to More ‘Classical’ Music Today

Ok, not really.  I’ve really never been able to get into classical music.  Which is sad because my Dad is a HUGE classical music fan.  He has tons of CD’s, all classical.  Me, I could never get into it.

In fact, it was funny cause one year I thought I’d try to ‘bridge the gap’ between us and bought him an Apocalyptica album.  If you’ve never heard of them they’re a group of cello’s that play Metallica music.  Pretty cool stuff, but unfortunately he didn’t like it.  Oh well!  It was worth a shot at least!

So back to my own ‘classical’ music.  My type of classical music is movie soundtracks.  I’m finding that I tend to work better when I listen to music without words, so I’m exploring the music that I already have.  Right now I’m listening to a little “Two Towers” music from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Great stuff!

i also really like the Braveheart soundtrack.  Anybody know of some other really good ones?

I Bought a Joe Satriani Album and Love It!

So for the last couple of weeks I’ve been listening to a Pandora station that I set up that only does instrumental rock.  And I have to say that it’s actually very refreshing to not listen to words for a while.

A little history: back when I was about 16 or so, about all I listened to was instrumental jazz.  Then I got into rock music and never went back.  Well, for the last year or so I’ve been listening to instrumental rock off and on, and lately I’ve really gotten into it.  I’m especially liking stuff by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

So just a few days ago I had a little extra cash, so I decided to splurge and get a new album.  I went with Joe Satriani’s Crystal Planet. It’s sweet, and I’m loving it so far. My favorite tracks: Psycho Monkey, House of Bullets, and Ceremony. So if you’re at all into instrumental rock, check it out!

I No Longer Have a ‘Favorite Band’

I remember back in high school, I always had a favorite band.  For the most part, it was always Queensryche, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin, or Collective Soul.  As you can tell, it would change from time to time.

But just last night my wife and I were talking about music and what my or her favorite band was, and I realized that I don’t have one anymore.  I have certain bands that I really like their music, but it’s no longer just one.  It’s different types, and it depends on my mood.

So I’m wondering if the whole ‘favorite band’ thing isn’t really just a glorified high school concept.  And the more I think about it I would have to say that it is.  Instead, it is so much better to just have certain types of music that you like to listen to.

So my advice, don’t limit yourself to one band.  Branch out and learn to appreciate other types of music.  Though I do have to admit that I can’t find an appreciation for rap, most R&B, or country…

The Regret of Selling a CD

I used to have a pretty good collection of CDs. I was a member of BMG and would buy a CD every couple of weeks. Then I started to realize that I had a bunch of CDs but only listened to my favorites, while a bunch of others just sat there un-played. So what did I do? Well, I sold a bunch of them. Sure seemed like a great idea at the time, and I think I needed the money anyway.

So here’s what always happens when I do this: maybe a few months or a few years will go by and then I’ll hear a song that was on one of those CDs that I sold. Then I’ll think to myself, “Man, that’s a good song! I wish I still had it! DOH!”

I swear this has happened to me more times than I can count. It’s funny how when you have something you don’t give it much attention, but then once you’ve gotten rid of it you wish you hadn’t! It’s also funny how this applies to so many other things in life…but I’m not going to go all philosophical today about that.

Have Bands Forgotten How to Sing?

I have to say, I’m a little annoyed with a lot of the new music groups that are coming out these days. It seems like the art of actually being able to sing is no longer something to consider when forming a music group. Whether its rock, alternative, or whatever, have you noticed that the quality of the voice has gone down?

Now, I also recognize that this isn’t a new thing. It seems like every couple of years there is a new trend on how a singer should sound. Maybe it all comes from the grunge movement, who knows.

It just seems that a bunch of these new bands sound really really whiny. Is anyone else noticing this? What happened to the good singers? I was a big fan of Queensryche growing up, and their lead singer Geoff Tate could really sing! Heck, even Billy Corbin of Smashing Pumpkins is a better singer than a lot of these ultra whiny emo groups these days.

Ok, there are also some bands that still have good voices. I’ve been somewhat impressed with One Republic and the way they sound, cause the guy actually has a good voice. So if you’re looking to start a band, please do us all a favor and take a few singing lessons. These days it can only help you stand out!

Lifehouse “Who We Are” Album Review

Today I thought I’d do a little review of an album that my wife gave me for Christmas last year. I meant to do this sooner but never got around to it, so here goes:

Lifehouse - Who We Are

Personally, I really really like this album. I have 2 of their other albums (Lifehouse and No Name Face) and I think they’re all really good, but I honestly think I like this album the best. The thing with Lifehouse is that they aren’t some fantastical amazingly awesome band that will blow your mind with their musical talent, but they make a darn good album. A lot of albums get old after you listen to them a couple of times, but this one tends to keep making its way back into my car cd player.

Here are some of my favorite tracks:

• Disarray
• First Time
• Whatever It Takes
• Broken
• Make Me Over
• Learn You Inside Out

Honestly I like the whole album, but those would be my favorite picks. So if you haven’t already, check this album out!