Joshua Radin's New Album Simple Times

I love Joshua Radin's first album, We Were Here. Now his second album is out, and for some reason, I'm a little disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe my life is too busy these days for his elegant simplicity? I still recommend it, but Simple Times is just a little too sweet for me right now. I am going to listen to it more, and I feel almost guilty that I tend to latch on more easily to music that is just a shade or two darker. Radin deserves to be happy and write happy, carefree songs.

This criticism is especially weird from me since I bet a lot of people would say I can come across as "too sweet/happy".

I do love the song featured live below, "They Bring Me to You" - careful, it tingles.

Nas, The World is Yours ft. Ahmad Jamal Sample

I think it was a week ago or so that I heard an NPR interview of Ahmad Jamal. Dude is 78 years old and still rules the keys live regularly (and has a new album). It was so funny, the guy from Soundcheck was asking him what he thinks about hip hop in general and hip hop sampling his music in particular (jazz piano). He kind of dodged the question saying there is good music and there is bad music, no matter what the genre. Soundcheck played a clip from Nas's classic song "The World is Yours" (from his album Illmatic), and then asked Jamal if that song was "good music". Jamal said something like "Well, he [Nas] chose a great song to sample [I Love Music]" but when pushed on whether he liked the song in particular, he was like "No Comment". For real??? I love Ahmad Jamal's music, and I also love a lot of Nas's music. I was so surprised to hear that Jamal doesn't like "The World is Yours" -- I love that song and love the way the sample was used! Wonder if he's just bitter b/c apparently he has lawsuits out about properly compensating him for sampling...

Like Everyone Else I'm Addicted to this Song Lately

The Daft Punk, Coldplay & U2 influence is of course there, but then I swear there's also a little bit of Beirut when the drums really kick in there right around the 1 min. mark(see below for Beirut's awesome song/video Postcards From Italy):



I also truly admire Kanye's boldness - producer turned rapper turned vocoder-singer with not a rap in there??? He could care less what 50 Cent and the rest think. Inspirational.

Since The IceChewer Misses Me

I will blog, even though I feel out of it music-wise these days. Thank you for missing me, Ice Chewer!

I feel like I have a new life these days - I've been busy trying to find my own rhythms within it. People keep calling me Professor, and I'm always rushing around trying to get prepped for my classes. Any free time I have lately has gone to trying to train our puppy Jasmine (wish I had more time to do that). This is what my days sound/feel like:



I had to put my guitar lessons on hiatus because I have no time to practice. But I will! I will! Things already feel better compared to two weeks ago.

My one major break of the semester comes this weekend, when Rich and I are going to the Austin City Limits music festival. Should reawaken the always-searching-for-great-new-music nerd in me...

Daby Toure

Rich and I checked out his show at Joe's Pub earlier this month, and it was beautiful. It was a rainy Saturday night, and I don't think they announced it very early, so the place wasn't packed. It really should have been. This is my favorite song of his - "Banta" (he actually jovially made us all stand up and turned it into a sing-along even though I really have no idea what the actual words are). Maybe someday I'll learn how to finger pick it out. :) Not all of his songs are as quiet as this one - the guy actually jams (and turns his guitar into a conga)! He mixes elements of his native West African style with Western jazz and pop, and the result is very cool... if he got enough publicity, I think he could become pretty popular here.

Kanye West & His Spaceship: The Musical

Kanye West & His Spaceship: The Musical (my title for the Glow in the Dark tour) was definitely memorable. Special effects were very cool, his stamina was impressive, as was the seamless integration of all his song into a narrative. I still can't decide how I felt about the 5 minute lecture we at MSG got at the end of his show (esp. since the night after us got Jay-Z instead), or the fact that he wouldn't share the stage with a single other animate being. But, I can't deny the face that I seriously enjoy Kanye's talent and music. Lupe Fiasco was very good too, and N.E.R.D. was fun (go Pharrell for bringing up Diggy Simmons to dance onstage - RUN'S HOUSE in the house).

It was also cool to hear Esthero's voice as the voice of the spaceship.

Acoustic Guitar Lessons

Learning guitar is HARD!! I knew it was before, but I didn't have full appreciation until now. Right now, I can barely strum through the main chords in Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls and am working on finger picking with Dust in the Wind by Kansas. I still can't change chords so quickly without screwing up the rhythm, but I'm getting better slowly by surely, thanks to my great teacher - and time & practice (never enough of either). My fingernails are gone. My fingertips are hardening. Don't think I'll ever be a guitar heroine, but hopefully I'll be competent enough at some point...