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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Mark's listening post 12.8.2009

Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

Ok, I've whined and wailed over this album for a long time, bemoaning it's lengthy process to get into my hot little hands. I was excited about the album, and I had considered just downloading it, but I decided that I wanted the disk, the booklet, and all the materials. So, I opted to order it and have it sent to me.

Well, we all know how that turned out. It got here eventually, and that's the end of that.

It was well worth the wait. This is truly a fantastic album. I almost wrote "classic," but that's really something only time can tell. Without a doubt it's the best "supergroup" record released this year, there were a lot of them, and they were good projects, Chickenfoot, Tinted Windows, etc.

The victory comes in the fact that it seems the sensibilities of all the players were exactly in line here, there seems to have been more of a point to the group than "get together and have a blast making music together. That seems to have been the only reason for the Chickenfoot record, and I love it, but it lacks the weight of Them Crooked Vultures.

The blueprint for the sound certainly feel like it would be, not Led Zeppelin, despite John Paul Jones presence, but Cream. In fact, on "Scumbag Blues," Josh Homme's vocals sound astonishingly like Jack Bruce. The wild jam-band feel, with concise and powerful songs, the pounding rythum section, etc. Frankly, Homme's guitar skills don't rival Clapton, but he fits in the pocket very well.

The three guys, as a whole, just play well together. I mean, sure, these are pros with decades of playing in the spotlight, and they could probably "fit in" with any number of groups. That being said, it really feels like something was clicking here. It's just cool to see these guys mix it up and seem to really be getting off playing together.

Highly reccommended.

Top tracks:
(Really, I'm digging every track, I'll put too many on this list, but these really snap.)

- Mind Eraser, No Chaser
- New Fang
- Dead End Friends
- Elephants
- Bandoliers
- Caligulove
- Gunman

Monday, December 7, 2009

Monday. Snow, and....Self-reflection...

Been kinda off-schedule with the blog the last few days. Busy, mostly. That, and just didn't feel like I had much to write. There's a Them Crooked Vultures review percolating, but it's just not ready yet.

Quick opinion? Unchanged, it's my favorite album of the year. I've actually been forcing myself not to listen to it all the time, so as to not burn out.

I'm blaming CByrd for the snow. She put up the Christmas decorations last night, and this morning...snow. Coincidence? I think not!

I managed to work on some music over the weekend, but wound up more frustrated than anything. It's my old "it's too simple" response coming up. I had a drum track I had worked out months ago, and really wanted to use for something. More of a dance kinda beat, just to be different.

Yeah, I know, different for the sake of being different isn't the best way to attack things, but I still feel so fucking trapped by the damn drum machine. I feel like I have to jump to patterns that are way outside of my usual in order to force myself to adapt and try something different. It works, kinda, but I tend to fall to much simpler progressions and riffs in those situations.

And, yeah, in my head, I think "so what? Simpler can be fun and good." That's true, I know it, but there's that part of me that feels like I have something to prove. That I need to be as complex as I possibly can be all the time, to impress my musician friends.

I kinda laugh inside when I hear people tell me how confident and sure of myself I appear to be. It's such a sham. I mean, really.

Sure, I'm far more confident in some areas than others. I rarely feel "stuck" in any area of theatre anymore. I know my shit. I may not always be right, but I have valid opinions, and I know it. So, y'know, I'm not afraid to speak my mind.

So, so many other areas of my life, however, ride on the razor's edge of my feeling like I'm just about to fly off the rails and into the inky blackness that hangs out there waiting for us to lose our path. The fact I'm just out here making shit up is obvious to me. I'm painfully, bluntly aware that I have little idea what the hell I'm doing.

...But one soldiers on. I'm 38, and a long time on this path for my life. There's no escape hatch, at this point, I can only hold on and ride it out. I just wish I could see the path a little more clearly right at the moment.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

New Comic Day 12.2.2009

Pretty light week...thank God, because last week was huge.

Blackest Night: The Flash #1 (of 3)

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Scott Kolins
Variant cover by Francis Manapul

Ahh...Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins back on The Flash. I have a gut feeling this is going to outshine Flash:Rebirth.

Jonah Hex #50

Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
Art and Covers by Darwyn Cooke

I so love this series, and I'm dead-excited to have Darwyn Cooke back on the art.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #5

COVER BY: DAVID LAFUENTE
WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: DAVID LAFUENTE
INKS: David Lafuente Garcia
COLORED BY: Justin Ponsor
LETTERED BY: VC - Cory Petit

The ONLY Spider-Man book worth reading. I'm dead serious on that.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Mark's Bookshelf 12.1.2009

Finished up Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales by Clarence Clemons and Don Reo just before the Thanksgiving trip.

Most definitely a fun book, and an interesting look into what it's really like for the Big Man to tour. The answer involves far more pain and dedication than I ever suspected. For example, Clarence spent every moment when not on stage for the E-Street Band Super Bowl appearance in a wheelchair. When Bruce told him he could sit down after a wide shot during "Born To Run," Clarence replies, "I won't sit down."

Don Reo is the co-writer in a very transparent way. Chapters are headed with which man actually wrote them. Don gives his impressions as an outsider on the inside, and what it's really like to be a friend of the Big Man. Clarence, of course, speaks from the inside. This allows the book to become more than a simple artist's memoir, and you really feel like you're getting a pretty well-rounded view of the life.

What it's not is any sort of tell-all book. Clarence is honest about his own past and drug use, for example, but never implicates Springsteen. In fact, he says he and Danny Federici had to hide their pot smoking from Bruce. He also expends not one word on Springsteen's personal life, and little about his own, other than that he is still friendly with all 5 ex-wives, and loves his children.

There are some strange digressions. Sections called "legends" are scattered in the book, offset by the pages being a light gray. In these sections we get "tall tales" of Clemons' life. There are short sections that introduce each tale, and comment on the likelihood of their reality. In most cases, it's pretty much just off-the-wall myth-making, but, by copping to this, I forgave it. Plus, many of the tales are truly entertaining. (I especially liked the "Bruce and C in wierd locations" stories, but then...I'm me.)

The ultimate feeling you get from this book is the deep love Clarence has for what he does, and how much it means to him to never miss a show, no matter how much pain he's in. (And, I remember the early days of the Magic tour....the Big Man looked like he was just about on his last legs.) Also apparent is his great, great love for the Boss. He still listens to Springsteen's records, and marvels at the songwriting.

In Reo's sections, he muses over how long Clemons can keep up this sort of touring schedule, but Clarence never even mentions it. I don't think it even crosses his mind to step down from his place with the band. It's clear he loves it too much, and the joyus look on his face at recent shows I've seen make it abundantly clear.

Reccommended if you find the subject at all interesting.

Monday, November 30, 2009

And lo, the Monday after the feast.

Well, here we sit on Monday November 30th....

The trip to Omaha was pretty uneventful. I got to see Ken, and take in his show Christmas in New England. We spent time with the Byrd family, and all was pretty well.

I still have yet to see my order from Amazon, but apparently a replacement is on the way. That's at least settled, though I am still not happy with the amount of time I could've been enjoying the movie and CD that is now past...I know it's all very silly, I really do, but these two items were things I was really looking forward to immersing myself in, and the wait has been really difficult.

So, for all of you out there who've been thinking it...You're right, I am ridiculous, but I have ever right in the world to be ridiculous, thank you very much.

The lack of success in my auditions is still weighing on me. Totally hypocritical, based on the philosophies I have espoused on this blog, but God damn...This last one hit me hard. I'm not quite sure how to process it, yet. Sure, I know, rationally, that there will be other opportunities, and I knew that this was an audition for a tight-knit ensemble. So, the ultimate resolution should not be such a downer, or a surprise.

But it is.

But we soldier on, right?

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Comic Day from Hell 11.25.2009

Huge week, and I won't be able to pick it up until next Wednesday, most likely.

Annoying.

Frankly, I am in a really poor mood today, and I really don't have much of anything to say about these books. I'll buy them, I'll read them.

Blackest Night #5 (of 8)

Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari
Sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Detective Comics #859