Can you tell me where my country lies?

said the unifaun to his true love's eyes.
"It lies with me!" cried the Queen of Maybe
- for her merchandise, he traded in his prize.

"Paper late!" cried a voice in the crowd.
"Old man dies!" The note he left was signed 'Old Father Thames'
- it seems he's drowned;
selling england by the pound.

Sorry, I can't start that lyric without singing the whole thing in my head, so I might as well write it down. In fact, those lyrics are probably a major catalyst in my love of music. I can still remember sitting on the couch listening to my new tape on my parent's stereo. On the start of this day I didn't know that Peter Gabriel had also been a lead singer of Genesis. I had been listening religiously to Invisible Touch, and with my meager funds I had picked up a second album based on the interesting picture on the cover. Those lyrics opened the album, and turned me from a Genesis fan into a fanatic.

I bring this up for a reason. Those who know me know that I am the cheap Scotsman. My wife constantly teases me about my hesitation about buying anything over $50. I've put off my new computer purchase for months (and more months to come), and I haven't picked up a new game since 2006.

However, even though I own all the albums, and 2 box sets, I will not hesitate on June 12th in heading over to Best Buy and slapping down over $200 the new Genesis 1976-1982 surround sound mix box set.
Reviewed at http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/musicreviews/2285/genesis-in-surround.html

The fact the reviews of the surround sound mix were very good was the final nail in the coffin.

For all my frugality, I do have very little willpower when it comes to hardback books and music. Especially for my favorite bands.

Now, there's something I want to point out about my favorite top 3 bands vs what is out there today.
Between 1974-2007 Rush had 17 albums
Between 1990-2007 Tori Amos had 9 albums
Between 1969-1997 Genesis had 16 albums

That averages to an album (I didn't count live albums) under every 2 years. If you look at the early years of Rush & Genesis you'll see sometimes they did an album every year, or twice a year. Compare that with today where new artists won't see their second album until after 2 years, usually 3. You have to wonder if the ability to continuously craft your music back then really helped these bands grow. They could gradually evolve their sound over time. In fact, if you listen to the albums from their beginning days to current day you can see the connections. As opposed to today where an artist's second albums is usually a glaring contrast to their first.

With today's technology, you'd think producing more music more often would be easier. However the industry seems to want to space these things out, and I think its a reason people are dissatisfied with the recording studios in general. They seem to want to gamble on each release being a huge hit instead of growing an artist. Especially with their love of the 'single'.

While I despair over the possibility of the potential loss of the album in today's digital age, I hope it means that artists get to push their work out more often, and get better at honing their craft.

The cleanest I've been

Well, after over 3 years of faithful service, our faithful companion started showing signs of its age. Stuttering, stumbling, and falling. I am speaking of that most reliable of servants, our Tivo. For all our research, we found only one way to save it. Wipe it clean and start over. All the favorites, preferences, and knowledge its accumulated throughout the year, all gone. No longer will it find episodes of "Family Guy"wherever it may show and bring it to me. At least, not for a while.

Its amusing that after a certain amount of time our computers and computer like devices need to be cleared out and restarted. Even in a virtual world, we can't clean up after ourselves.

Driven up and down in circles

So I spoiled my son a bit and bought him a little three-wheeled scooter. We fitted him with a helmet (which he will slap while on his head going "knock-knock"), and pads and turned him loose on the streets. And by streets, I mean my driveway and the adjoining sidewalk. He's getting off to a decent start though sometimes he will end up kicking the wheel by accident. We definitely need to keep the knee pads up as he's already scraping them up.

I mention the padding because with that padding came some fingerless gloves that we did not put him in. However he discovered the gloves and insisted on wearing on them. At this point he went around stating "Gavin Cooking!".

Speaking of driving, gas prices have gone up again. This of course leads to my chortling at SUVs, and reading in the paper about how catastrophic it is. This irritates me. Not the chortling, I quite enjoy that. Here's the deal, the U.S. can handle $3 dollars a gallon. SUVs are still selling quite well, and while hybrids are well publicized, they're still a drop in the bucket in production. The economy will adjust. And don't get me started on that one day boycott of gas. You'll just buy it the next day, you know, I know it, they know it, stop kidding yourself. Useless public gestures just irritate me. Its just for people going "Look at me! Look at me!".

I'll give you a second to see the irony of that last statement.

Back to Gavin, he walked his first dog today. Well, he started walking the dog, it ended up with the dog walking him. He never let go of the leash though, he was determined to get it done. It was quite adorable.

We can act like we come from out of this world

Gavin and I have a secret, when mommy's away, we dance. Though his version of dancing usually evolves into spinning, it still looks a lot better than mine. Hence we do it while mommy is gone. Otherwise there will never be a brother or sister for Gavin (not that we're currently trying, but still). It is just that bad, but we have fun. However I need to make sure not to choose "Steam" by Peter Gabriel since its so long, dancing around with a 2 year old can take its toll.

Speaking of music I had a great day on May 1st. Having a new Tori Amos, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Rush album come out on the same day is almost too much. But not quite. Now I was a little worried about the new Rush album. Their last album, Vapor Trails, was not one of my favorites. However, I am pleased to say their new outing is quite good. In fact, all of them are very well done. My current favorite is Tori's new outing, she can fully pack a 74 minute CD with no fluff again and again.

On a very bad segue, what the hell was up with this season's Amazing Race? For an "all-star" season all the legs were poorly planned, and generally very weak. The worst was the season finale where all the teams went through multiple tough tasks, only to have that not matter because everyone was going to be on the same flight anyway. You'd think they would have learned from the season Chip & Kim won after doing terribly on all the tasks leading up to the final flight. Here's a hint, on the final leg, do the flight, THEN do all the tasks.

Bull in a China Shop

So we were on our walk on Sunday, for the first time we went sans stroller. Gavin was doing pretty well and we stopped by the park at the top of the hill for some serious sliding. To our dismay, we found that someone had been there recently, with some spray paint.

Now, realistically the slides still work, but its just irritating. If people want to paint so bad, I have some rooms in my house you can work on. I can understand being bored, but what situation are you in where your thought process goes to paint and a toddler's playground?

On a happier note, this year's hockey playoffs have not disappointed. Its been high-energy, close games most of the way through. There's even been some double overtimes. And if there's anything I like better than playoff hockey, its overtime playoff hockey. I'm watching San Jose vs. Detriot now, and San Jose just took the lead. Which is a good thing. People who know me know I'm not the largest fan of San Jose, but I absolutely hate the Detriot Red Wings. No sport can truly be enjoyed if you don't have an enemy, and Detroit & New Jersey are mine. No offense to the cities of course, all I have to say is I'm a Blues & Penguins fan and they'll understand :)

Its been about 2 months since Pam stopped working. All in all I think its been a good thing, Gavin is happier, Pam is happier (though still very busy), and so I'm happier. Gavin's conversation skills have also jumped dramatically since she's started staying at home. Plus it means I get Gavin blowing kisses out the window at me when I leave for work, and who doesn't want that?

Now, to be clear, I don't have any problems with my wife working. I'm not quite that old fashioned. However her last job was such soul-sucking hell (my words, not hers), life is just better because of it. Frankly I'd like it better if she got a nice worthwhile high paying job so I could stay home instead. I'd make a good stay at home Dad. Except for the cooking. Pam doesn't cook because we're an old fashioned family, she cooks for the sake of her health and taste buds. You should never, EVER give me spices without explicit instructions. I'll take something that just needs a pinch for 2 gallons of food, and slather it over everything. Its just the way I think. I can follow a recipe, but don't ask me to be creative. Your stomach will not thank you.

Like an angel with clip-on wings

Well the rains have finally stopped for now, and we actually have some warm weather again. This leads to the yearly awakening of my cul-de-sac. Its amazing how for months we don't see our neighbors, but as soon as it gets warm again we pick up where we left off. And yes, I realize I mangled that last sentence structure. Hockey playoffs are on (AWSOME SAVE! Vancouver vs Dallas 3rd period 10:04 left), so I'm slightly distracted. Deal.

Anyway, where was I...cul-de-sac, neighbors like hibernating bears, got it. The real nice thing about living in a cul-de-sac is its a natural place for kids to play and neighbors to meet. Gavin is finally old enough to actually interact a bit with the other kids. He especially enjoys the trampoline. Its one of those large ones with the mesh cage, which makes it safe for bouncing toddlers. Gavin's balance has improved greatly as he can actually keep his feet and keep bouncing in the ripples the other kids cause. He's learning to time his own bouncing to take advantage of the the bigger kids springs. His major accomplishment came today as he managed to launch himself from one end of the trampoline to the other (about 10 feet). As he went through the air he shouted with a grin, "I FLY!". The look on his face was so precious, I couldn't stop laughing.

We have had the good luck to have a very good set of neighbors. They're all friendly, good people. Though if you're an outsider speeding through the neighborhood, you wouldn't guess that the two enforcers in your face are actually sweet people (that poor pizza guy :) ). Our neighbors are a big reason we stayed in our house after the 2nd break in.

J.T.'s son has just gotten old enough to be introduced to the lawn mower, and he's currently "in training". Now as a rule I mow my own lawn since I don't like paying professionals what I can easily do myself. However, I have always been a fan of supporting the work of an neighborhood kid (since I used to do that myself). So I look forward to hiring him to mow my lawn. J.T. and I have realized that with the distribution of ages of kids in our cul-de-sac, we'll soon be set mowing wise for years to come. I believe lounging on lawn chairs and drinks were mentioned...

As an ending note, some tips on interacting with my cul-de-sac
1) People walking by are invited to say hi and introduce themselves. We don't bite, not even the kids.
2) Do not drive and circle the cul-de-sac then leave, that irritates us.
3) Don't do it fast, that infuriates us.
4) We do NOT have an entrance to Vago Park. Go to Dorsett & Fee Fee and head north. There will be a turn to your right a couple blocks down the road.
5) For those soliciting, beware the attack neighbor.

Breaking out through the silence

We've reached the point where Gavin is starting talking in sentences, small sentences, but sentences nonetheless. Which means that conversations are beginning to happen, and more of his personality begins to emerge. My favorite conversation lately was...

Gavin: C'mon daddy, floor

Me: Daddy needs to go upstairs

Gavin: Daddy, floor please

Me: Daddy needs to order pizza

Gavin: Bye bye daddy!

Me: I'm not leaving, I'm ordering pizza

Gavin: Pizza! Bye bye daddy! Pizza!

As you can guess, my son likes his pizza, even more than playing with me apparently. I don't blame him, I like pizza better than playing with me too. Wait, that came out wrong...

Anyway...

The singing has also begun, his new one is "Happy Day", the single will be released next year, or whenever he adds more than two words to the song, whatever comes first.

Nonetheless, the meeting of the minds has begun (and with me, not so far to go). However, with all my powers of communication with the young ones, I will never master the mental telepathy that goes on between toddlers. So many times I've watched Gavin and another child exchange a look, and suddenly they laugh, or go in the same direction, or play a game. Even with strangers, he can make that connection. It seems a shame that as he improves his speech, he'll lose that. But the conversations that I get to hear between them are funny enough to be worth it.

My favorite was a conversation between him and C discussing if a light was off, or if it was broke. Note I said discuss, they never once raised their voices. They just simply discussed it for 10 minutes. What can beat that?

The first cut is the deepest

Those that know me are aware that I have always been adverse to paying someone else to do something I can do myself. Whether it be mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, installing ceiling fans (hey, I didn't say I did it FAST, just that I could do it), etc. However, I am seriously thinking of putting that on hold for the month of April when it comes to mowing the lawn.

Every year its the same, the first warmth comes in with a host of rain, which makes the grass grow at an alarming rate. But yet the rain still comes, which leads me to take that one time it is not raining, and get out there and mow. Note that I didn't say the ground was still dry. Which means I'm out there restarting the clogged mower every couple of minutes, and bagging ever swath or so. It didn't help that for the first mow I had my father chuckling at me through the back porch window. Those of you who believe parents should be supportive in every situation should stay away from my family. They've had their knocks and they're enjoying watching others go through the same pain.

Not that I'm much different....

Nonetheless, just did the second mow and its still freaking wet. So I'd like to pay someone to mow my lawn for April next year. But you can't do that, you have to sign up for the whole year. So I'll be out there next April swearing loudly at the lawn mower. Only 11 more years until Gavin can mow, hee hee.

Now I could stop there, but I haven't thought up a lyric for the title yet. That's what I think is the main thing that slows me down in posting. Because I'm so freaking perfectionist about it. But I started this post about MOWING THE LAWN. Last I checked, there wasn't much music written with that in mind, so I have to either 1) Make the start of this post lead into a greater point, or 2) Do something abstract.

I could go ironic with something from Heavenly Day by Patty Griffin for humor effect, but that doesn't work when I've already shown I'm having problems with the title. Its too much of a cop out. Of course, there is a line, "Tomorrow may rain with sorrow" which works nicely but then you google the title of the song and go what the hell? All the other titles not only work as lyrics, but as the song titles themselves somewhat.

And yes, I am stalling, I can run through lyrics in my head while I type, I've very weird like that. Multitasking is a normal operation for me, which usually drives my wife a little crazy as I'm sometimes doing work while watching Lost with her. And by the way, I just got it. But you knew that since its now there at the top of the post.

So that leads to the question, did I know the title all along and just rambled for the hell of it, or to mess with your mind a bit? The time of the post should answer that question.

Colour Moving And Still

A quick note, my in-laws have recently gone out of the country for close to a year. Since we won't have too much contact, so I'm feeling a bit pressured to update this blog a little more than I do currently so they know what the heck is going on here. Maybe more posts will make them smaller for once?

Gavin's Year 2 DVD is shipped! For those of you who don't know, I take all the pictures and movies that I've taken from birthday to birthday and compile a 25 min or so movie. I pop on some of the cute full movie clips that I've taken, and I ship them out to the friends and family who care about this sort of thing.

For 25 minutes worth of material, it is a freaking lot of work. Every image needs to have its moving crops set, I have to go through hours of video to find 10-15 second segments to use, and I have to score it. OK, lets be honest, you know and I know I love the scoring part, but it is still quite a bit of work.

To top it off, apparently something happened with the WMV movie file codec or something because the movie I did for Year 1 is now stuttering. That annoyed me, so I went back and using this new tool I bought, I redid the whole thing.

Speaking of tools, I used Microsoft's Photo Story 3 last year, which works pretty good for those of you who want to automate most of this. It takes up to 300 pictures, automatically sets moving crops, and allows you to add a soundtrack. However, as much as a helping hand it was, it didn't really do as nice as job as I would have liked. So I picked up the Sony Vegas studio this year, and while it doesn't automate the stuff for you, it does allow you to do some really nice things. Its weird when you view something you did just a year ago, and were proud of, and want to just rip it apart. Progress is like that. At least I got it finished on time this year.

I'm beginning to believe Gavin is invincible. He seems to be able to bounce off of ANYTHING. Falling off of things seems to be his new favorite sport. Whether it be his bike, the couch, our bed, etc, he eventually will purposely fall off and giggle the whole time.

I wish I could do that :)

I have my little pleasures, this wall being one of these

To put it plainly, the last couple of months at work have been rough, I won't go into details (see first blog post), but its been a tiring time. There is light at the end of the tunnel, just need to make it a couple more weeks.

When times get tough, there are certain things that I usually turn too:
Tori Amos (who the title quote is attributed to). Her music usually isn't what you'd expect to pick someone up, but I just find listening to artistry very soothing and energizing. If Scarlet's Walk isn't in your collection, it should be.

Cuddling with my wife while Gavin is playing. I highly recommend it as good therapy, but get your own wife and kid, I don't share.

Daily Show / Colbert Report - You need to laugh.

Playing with my video editing tools - I accomplish SOMETHING, and it looks neat, at least I think so.

Fencing - Swords are fun.

Speaking of which, I had an 'old' moment when I was wearing my Tori Amos t-shirt at fencing, and one of the 14 year old girls asked "Who's that?". I mean, she's still making albums, touring and selling out concerts. So what the hell? I shouldn't be having these moments for another decade or so...

As I'm growing older I also notice that I do other fun things less, video games, playing hockey (not at all lately), and going to movies. Part of growing up (somewhat) I guess.

As a closing thought, hockey playoffs are coming soon. You should watch, there is no sport on earth like playoff hockey. For those like me in St. Louis who do not have a team going to the playoffs, I urge you to cheer for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are an incredibly fun team to watch, and you can count on the fact that as soon as the playoffs start, I'll be watching them any way I can. Go Pens!

Driving away from the wreck of the day

A couple of random thoughts, as if I ever put anything else up here

1) I'm very tired, losing people on your team sucks. Especially when you've got to pick up the slack. I can do the work of two people (seriously), but 3 or 4 starts to get on me. While my multitasking skills have increased (I honestly have a project up on each monitor and I work on the one which is not building or running tests, and sometimes another project in the background). It gets a little harried. Also, today I was interrupted so much it took me 4 hours to do a 15 minute piece of code. To be honest, I don't mind the interruptions that much because its part of my job, and I like helping my developers. And frankly, I'm supposed to be doing less project coding and do more long term stuff. But STILL, I think about taking a day off just to get work done. If I could find ANYONE decent I'd bring them in, but after 2 months, still no one.

2) Gavin just rocks. For some reason he has not inherited the tantrum side of my family (yet). His temper tantrums last about a minute and a half. The kids in my family would be good for 3 hours. Because if we wanted something, damnit, we were going to fight for it. Not sure if this is a good thing for Gavin long term, but I appreciate it for now. That and now that he has "Thank You" firmly under his belt he's charming people left and right. And let's be honest, parents love it when their kid can charm people. We pretend it has something to do with us.

3) The Pittsburgh Penguins are the best puck movers in the NHL. Watching those games is like watching art being created. If they fix those defensive breakdowns, they're going far in the playoffs. Watch a game on Versus if you get a chance.

4) I seriously am going to shoot the next person/columnist/pundit that complains about CEO salaries and golden parachutes. I'll use dull bullets for people who say they should give the money back to the company. If you got offered that much money, and money for being fired, would you take it? Of course you would. You wouldn't say that's immoral or anything, you'd take the money and skip all the way to the bank. Do they deserve it? It doesn't matter! Someone offered it, someone took it. Its not like these CEOs held guns to these guys' heads. Do I think they're ridiculous sums of mone?. Hell yes, but that's the fault of the board, not the CEO. Business isn't charity, its business. We're all here to make as much money as we can and then retire and drink lots of cherry cokes (or your beverage of choice). If you are a stockholder in one of these companies, complain to the board, don't take it out on the CEO. Lucky bastards that they are.

5) I can't do short posts, I've tried, but I can't. Perhaps if I posted more regularly, but see item #1.

6) Go see Casino Royale. Now.

7) Some music awards (some of these are 2005 albums I found in 2006, deal).
Best Music: Charlotte Martin - Stromata.
Best Lyrics: Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day
Best New Discovery (for me): David Gray
Biggest Surprise (Good) : Elton John - The Captain And The Kid
Biggest Surprise (Bad): Barnaked Ladies - Barenaked Ladies Are Me
Best Complete Album: Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel.
Worst Complete Album: The Killers - Sam's Town
Best Guilty Pleasure: Erasure - Nightbird

And seriously, why don't you own the good albums on that list yet?

8) When Genesis tickets go on sale in the U.S., I'd appreciate if you'd wait until I make my purchase before you buy. I'll post and let you know when I'm good.

9) Save for retirement/kid's college early. I'd like to personally thank the 23 year old version of myself who started that investment. I was pretty nervous about doing it back then, and I'd like to let him know that everything is OK. When you can actually start seeing pieces of your retirement falling into place, its a good thing. Even if you're 31 and not planning to stop working anytime soon.

10) Why in the age of multiple LCD monitors, does Dell not have a docking station for their laptops with 2 DVI outputs? VGA output to a LCD monitor just doesn't look good.

11) My first viewing of American Idol yesterday (seriously, I don't watch it) while Gavin was having playtime at a neighbors makes me wonder what is so good about waiting in line forever to get embarrassed on national TV? Is being on TV THAT good? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY? If you're famous you can't get away with anything, I like to have the option to get away with things. Therefore I have no desire to be famous. I think this is a rational opinion. However in the democracy of ideas, apparently I am wrong. What shocks me is that people don't KNOW how bad they are, and that Simon doesn't rip into these guys more after all the bad auditions amazes me. Listen, there is this thing called a tape recorder. Sing into it, now play it back. If you need to, play any published artist. Compare the two. It should be pretty damn apparent. Now, way back when, I had a good voice. In my little pond, I was pretty good. However, not even then, immature as I was, would I think for a SECOND that I could succeed on this show. This is why Amazing Race is the closest I get to reality TV.

12) (wow, 12? WTF?) My wife's computer is loud, I am very tired (see #1), I'm going to bed.

All I Want Is A Couple Days Off

Well this is my last day of work for the calendar year, and by all rights I should have left by now. It can be bloody inconvenient to be a professional, grumble. The fact that MS windows seems to take forever to determine if a network directory exists or not is just one of my delays today.

I've fallen way behind in album reviews, simply because its freaking hard to do. Describing an album isn't so bad, but trying to write something for each track can be tricky. I usually end up deleting most of what I write simply because it gets too much. People just aren't interested in phrase by phrase analysis of a track, so I try to give the feel in a sentence or two. Which in some cases just seems so shallow. Nonetheless, I shall soldier on. It seems SOME people are reading this from time to time (though I haven't been as good with the updates).

So what to do this holiday break? Usually when I have a vacation I end up painting a room, which is a possibility. Or if the weather seems nice I might finally get around to replacing all the outside lights since the bulbs have burnt out, and replacing them is a pain. I seriously want to know who thought putting a small screwdriver into a black hole on black paint and completely taking the damn thing apart just to change the bulb was a good idea. Add to the fact that bugs do seem to wiggle in there through small cracks, then die, then their guts rust out said post. We're going with an open bottom. Appologies for all those who walked up to my porch after the ice storm in the dark. I wasn't being inconsiderate, the lights just don't work.

But frankly, the first thing I'm going to do is sleep, and lots of it :)

Stromata

Charlotte Martin - Stromata

For those of you not acquainted with Charlotte Martin, I highly recommend you start listening to her stuff. She is not your typical artist that you hear on the airwaves. Her previous official album release On Your Shore has been a favorite album of mine for a while, and I've eaten up her intermediate EP releases on the way.

This album marks a departure, as it is more rhythmic whereas her last album was very melodic. A risky move as albums of that nature tend to fall flat after the first song or two. I can happily tell you this is not the case here.

The album never bores you or gets trapped in one sound, at time you don't feel like you are listening to a pop album as you are a piece of art. An additional note, the mixing on this is superb, those of you with good sound systems will get a extra bonus as the songs sound incredible on a good system.

The songs:
Stromata - The opening defines the album very well, there multiple rhythms and harmonies intertwining here giving the impression of chaos, yet holds together very well.
Rating: 4

Cut The Cord - Continuing with the rhythmic theme, this percussive piece has a Stomp feel to it with the drums. Minimal instrumentation, mostly drums and voice, but it works very well.
Rating: 4

Drip - Very appropriately named as the piano and synth create a very fluid watery sound. Like the music the vocals just continuously flow through the versus until it hits the chorus. You might have problems singing along, but you'll definitely enjoy the listen.
Rating: 4

Little Universe - A quick rhythm chant piece, very minimalist.
Rating: 3

Civilized - High tempo, angry sounding track. Heavy piano driving the beat. Very metered vocals.
Rating: 3

A Hopeless Attempt - The toy piano sound gives a innocent, yet sorrowful sound to this track. A sweet, beautiful piece.
Rating: 3

Four Walls - This actually appeared first on her Veins EP. Very driving rhythm that catches you and keeps hold for the whole song. Expect to hear this one on the radio at some point in time. My son likes to dance to this song :)
Rating: 4

Inch - Leaves the rhythmic pieces for a flowing, reflective, melodic piece. Fans of her first album will feel right at home with this one.
Rating: 3

Keep Me In Your Pocket - Snappy piece with dueling vocals and plucky piano which has a nice charming effect.
Rating: 3

Pills - Fun little novelty piece about......Pills. Mostly piano with other instrumental effects at times.
Rating: 3

Just Before Dawn - A surprising operatic track, this acts as kind of a palette cleanser before hitting the bottom of the record. You probably won't listen to this song on its own, but as part of the album it does its job very well. You can be impressed with how well she sings this.
Rating: 3

Cardboard Ladders - A completely melodic piece that has a haunting, echoing feel to it. Its just simply beautiful. The last 2 1/2 mins will really hit you.
Rating: 5

The Dance - The culmination of the rhythmic feel of this whole album. Full of imagery with a simple yet perfectly crafted melody with builds up to a great climax.
Rating: 5

Redeemed - If you need to expose Charlotte Martin to someone, this is the song to use. It perfectly blends the rhythmic & melodic areas of past in present into a beautiful piece that has an incredibly full sound even though there are a minimum of instruments. The vocals & backing on this piece are perfect. If I could improve one place, it would be adding more of an explosion in the drums in the bridge section. But otherwise, this is almost the perfect song.
Rating: 5

Though some people might read this review and cherry pick the 5's from iTunes, I HIGHLY recommend buying the whole album. Its pieced together so well that it deserves to be listened to as a whole. Everything just builds up to the ending 3 songs that wrap up the album so perfectly. Buy this album today, and make sure to pick up copies for your friends.

Album Rating: 4

Sam's Town

Sam's Town - The Killers

I never like it when reviewers spend the whole time comparing an album to the previous and base their review on that, so I'll be looking at this as a fresh album. By the way, that isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. I will make some comparisons, but I'll save them until the end.

It seems the goal of this album was to create a more gritty sound in the way of rock albums from the 80's. Vocals are very loose, especially the backing on some songs. Surprisingly, the album has sort of a broadway musical type feel to it at times. Over all it feels very gray and rough.

By the way, when I mean loose vocals its when the singer's voice doesn't stay tight on a note, but breaks and wavers very noticably. In this album it isn't because the singer is not very good, but because he's doing it on purpose to create a type of sound.

Loose backing vocals means that the backing vocals aren't in sync exactly with the lead (and will do some wavering as well). A chorus type sound.

The songs:
Sam's Town - The opener definatly has that sort of musical feel to it as mentioned above, then transitions into a more synth pop briefly then enters a standard rock pattern then back and forth. It ends with that musical type feel again with the entrance of the first loose backing chorus vocals which will be a theme in future tracks.

The song's structure is not predictable, and is pretty creative, which are things I like.
Rating: 4

Enterlude - Quick musical number to enter into the body of the album. A good solid melody.
Rating: 4

When You Were Young - I guess this would be considered the 2nd opener, however it isn't nearly as strong. Some reviewers have stated that this album tries to recreate Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run, which has slight merit, but is a grevious overstatement. This song is why. While somewhat catchy, it does seem like a carbon copy of that sound, and it just doesn't work today.
Rating: 3

Bling (Confession of a King) - A synth pop/rock piece who's vocals are tight in the beginning, yet become very loose with a desperate sound in the chorus then stay loose from that point on. It tries to have a driving rythym but doesn't succeed. It tries to emote, but falls short of drawing the listener in. This track becomes forgettable quickly with its almost monotone sound.
Rating: 2

For Reasons Unknown - Starts off with a classic sounding guitar rock riff which leads the listener to expect an explosion that never happens. It stays true to a classic rock sound, yet brings nothing to distinguish itself.
Rating: 2

Read My Mind - A mix of 80's synth pop with that Born To Run sound. The vocals are overly loose on here to the point of being slightly annoying. If he tightened control over his voice here this song probably wouldn't be too bad. Except again, this seems like something we've heard before. The entry to each chorus and the bridge are actually pretty good, I wish the rest of the song lived up to those pieces of potential.
Rating: 2

Uncle Jonny - Solid bass rock line driving the song. The loose vocals actually WORK in this song. A solid rock song.
Rating: 3

Bones - This is a really fun poppish song that I real like. It has a mix of classic pop and ska. Unlike previous tracks this one is pretty exiting and you'll probably ending up tapping your foot along with it.
Rating: 4

My List - This song feels like its in a musical sung by a bunch of upset people in a bar. Not saying that's bad, but that's the image that comes to mind. This tune actually sticks with you.
Rating: 3

The River Is Wild - Another Born To Run sounding piece, however this actually improves on the sound and brings something new to the table. While it feels familiar, its pretty exciting and fun to listen to. The verses are very quick paced and you'll find yourself dancing along with them.
Rating: 3

Why Do I Keep Counting - Currently my favorite track on the album. This definatly feels like it belongs in a musical somewhere. The vocals are suddenly tight again, and it really helps make this track shine. The loose chorus
Rating: 4

Exitlude - Repeat of the enterlude theme, but fleshed out until a full song. Again, the musical chorus sound appears. Catchy ending.
Rating: 4

In the end they were trying to recreate a classic rock sound, yet didn't learn any lessons from those past albums. This is strange considering the song "All The Things I've Done" from Hot Fuss was a poster child about how to revive a classic rock and roll song in the modern era, and stands as one of my all time favorite songs.

What's interesting, is the album is pretty weak starting out, but gets better as time goes on. However, fans of Hot Fuss will need some patience to enjoy this album, and in fact may be turned off completely.

I can appreciate what they were trying to do, but for the most part it just didn't make it, mostly because they didn't use some of their strengths. They have a great singer, yet its hard to tell on this album. Part of the joy of Hot Fuss was the treatment of the singer as an instrument like on the song "Everything Will Be All Right". The song structures on Sam's Town were more creative than Hot Fuss for the most part, yet didn't bring in anything interesting in the music to back it up for a lot of the songs. I'm hoping their 3rd attempt will bring in the lessons learned from both these albums. However, while Hot Fuss was a stand out album, Sam's Town simply seems run of the mill.

Rating: 3

Life In Slow Motion

Life In Slow Motion - David Gray

Not a brand new album, it was relased in 2005, but a recent aquisition after hearing the title song, "Life In Slow Motion" on ER this year. I'd heard of this guy before, but never got around to hearing his stuff. I'm now kicking myself about that.

Its a very folksy sounding album with a mix of upbeat and somber pieces. In some cases you could visualize the singer with a guitar in a bar and band (say Mississippi Nights), and in other places you'd think of a concert hall with an orchestra backing him up. The songs feel very introspective and the music is full of visuals. You'll also find yourself singing a long with a lot of the tracks on here, always a good sign.

A note on the production values before going into the songs, this is one of the cleanest sounding albums I've ever heard. Every part comes through very clearly, and the lyrics easy to hear without dominating the music. For someone who's half deaf, I highly appreciate an album that's mixed like that.

On with the songs, note that I'm rating on a 5 scale.

Alibi - Very somber opener. A song full of sorrow and regret. The orchestral backing here is subtle yet powerful. Slowly swells into a sound that will propel you into the rest of the album. Rainy day song.
Rating : 4

The One I Love - After the somber beginning, we get a nice toe tapper sing along. A bright feeling song that I like to put in when driving away from work.
Rating : 4

Lately - Slower folksy piece, very easy to sing with though. Another introspective rainy day song.
Rating : 3

Nos Da Cariad - Driving rythym with excellent poetry.
Rating: 3

Slow Motion - This song is very simple, yet very beautiful. I find myself listening to it again and again. Proof that you don't always have to have a lot of lyrics to have a great song.
Rating: 5

From Here You Can See the Sea - Folksy guitar piece. Another good piece of poetry yet this didn't grab me too much.
Rating: 2

Ain't No Love - Another beautiful piece, it feels of sweet sorrow.
Rating: 4

Hospital Food - After so much slow introspective pieces, we have a nice refreshing almost pop like piece. You'll like singing along with this in your car.
Rating: 5

Now and Always - Starts slow with driving drum beat and piano, builds to a dramatic climax. Feels like this should be the end of the album the way it is set up. But think of it as a fake ending as the next song finishes the album nicely.
Rating: 4

Disappearing World - This a great way to wrap up the album nicely, has that introspective feeling that has been tying the album, mixes soft sweetness with a rocking bridge. You'll sing along.
Rating: 4

Everybody's Leaving Town (bonus) - If you buy the album off iTunes you'll get this track. Don't let that influence your decision though. While it has a nice classic sound to it, this track is pretty forgettable.
Rating: 2

I know I usually buy CDs instead of buying albums on iTunes, but this CD does come with some copy protection which might get in the way of getting it on your iPod. So be careful there.

In the end I found this a great album that has been seeing a lot of play time from me. Its great for a fall or rainy day, I suggest picking this up as a full album rather than cherry picking songs.

Album Rating: 4

Stone Blind Alibi

I've been busy, OK? Get off my back :P

I've recently finished my latest home improvement project of putting up a handrail for Gavin, which he sometimes actually uses! It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and would suggest any parent with a small child learning the stairs put one up.

On another Gavin note, he's definately entering the terrible twos, random temper tantrums and all that, fun times ahead.

I've come to the theory that basements are never done, just in constant states of reorganizing and throwing out. Though spending a productive weekend moving stuff around, there's still a lot to do down there, and I'm sure there is a lot to throw out if we ever get around to it. Especially if we want to finish the basement.

To make up for my recent absense to all of the 3 people who read this, I'll be doing a couple rapid fire posts soon. One of the reasons I started to blog was to talk about music. Well I just recently picked up 6 new albums and I'll be reviewing them on here, so look for that.

Watching TV this season, I've noticed a good trend in the music selections done for the most part. Instead of just randomly taking a new hit and slaping it on the show, they're actually looking for good stuff that fits. Noteworthy this year is Bones with the discovery of Susan Enan, who hadn't even put her album out yet. Do yourself a favor and go to www.myspace.com/susanenan and check out her two songs on there, especially Bring On The Wonder. This will be an album I will be picking up.

The other kudo goes to ER, which is surprising since I didn't think they had anyone on there who knew what a good song was. But their season premier featured a song by the artist who's lyric is the title of this post. It will also be the first album I review, coming soon :)

Between The Tick And The Tock

So I've been busy obviously from the dead silence on here. Work, baby, and a trip to the hospital all seem to have interfered with my blogging life, but we must soldier on!

I just finished reading Freakonomics. It is a book I gave to my father, and my father in law, but not have gotten a chance to read until recently. I loved this book. It really has no unifying theme, except asking strange questions like "Why to crack dealers live with their mothers?" and analyzing the data to come up with some surprising results.

I've always been a large fan of economics (which is why I minored in it), and frankly econ 101 should be a required class for any college degree. Its the basics of how the world works. Supply, demand, and above all, incentives.

It always amazes me how people don't get the basic grasp of how things work, why people act they way that they do. Make everyone take this course (and pass it), and I think the amount of stupidity in politics and tv news will go down.

At least it would stop people from whining about gas companies gouging us. Now I'm not saying that they are the most ethical companies in the world, and god knows they could spend some of those profits on maintenance and saftey. But seriously, the prices are competitive, and they're driven by the simple fact that more people are driving cars all over the world. The price of drilling oil hasn't gone up much, and the cost of refining it is about the same, which means that since more people WANT the gas, it costs more. Which means that the company makes more profit. Its not evil, its supply and demand (though my explanation was extremly summerized).

Besides, we can afford it. Not everyone of course, the lower end of the spectrum is really feeling it, it sucks. But as a nation, our economy can handle it. If we couldn't, we'd be really serious about alternative fuels? Are we, no. Why not? Because we just don't have the incentive yet (see, econ 101!). Let gas go up to $4, and MAYBE we'll get serious. If we threw on a larger gas tax we might really be able to improve public transport, and throw more money at research. It would also stabilize prices for a while as well.

Anyway, just wanted to say, go out and read Freakonomics. It doesn't talk about gas, but it will open your eyes to some cool stuff.

Crash! Boom! Bang!

First off, yes that is a song lyric, look it up.

Gavin played a fun game yesterday where he would just run and plop onto the ground on purpose. He started with something soft like the couch, upgraded to carpet, then was daring and did the kitchen floor. He found the hard floor made the best sound so for the rest of the night we just heard "hee hee hee hee BANG hee hee hee hee BANG".

So far that's been a one night thing, but I'm sure it will come back at some point.

Gavin has reached the age where he's beginning to act out, throwing toys for one thing. Our first line of punishment was responded too with laughing, which is never a good sign. We're trying to do a time out by putting him in his stroller and strapping him in. We tried sitting him in a corner, but that just won't work with a boy who's first rule is FREEDOM. It seems to have some success so far.

Gavin is also giving head first diving a try. He'll go belly down on the couch then slide off head first. It sometimes makes a loud thump, but he seems undamaged (and actually happy afterwards). His header off the stairs however I wasn't quite as amused with. Luckily, though I was at the bottom and he was at the top of the flight, I was able to catch him mid-fall, so no damage done. It does mean we have to start watching him on the stairs again. He's been so good on them that we've gotten a bit lax.

I've often cursed the fact I was born deaf in my right ear. But now with Gavin enjoying the banging of his pots, and also the putting away and taking back out of his pots, I've found it a nice benefit. Though I'm sure it drives my wife crazy at times.

Well this one is sort of a rambler (I'm very tired) so I'll end here and start afresh with something new tommorow.

Take a little walk right through our home

Posts are probably going to come rapid fire over the next few days, that is if I remember everything I want to post about :)

I must start by giving thanks to M&K for hosting us during the power outtage. They kept us and 5 others in air-conditioning for 2 nights. They may find it to be no big deal, but it is to me. Home is a sanctuary, and sharing it with no notice and no visible end in sight was a huge guesture. I guess they DO like us. Even though it is MY puck.

A great deal of fun was had though, the children had fun running around each other, and M & I had fun playing some Guild Wars :)

It is a difficult to abandon your home, even for a short while. The walls seem to speak with deep sorrow when I must depart for a while, and it always hits me a bit. It also is because I'm definatly a homebody. It has been pointed out by Sarahlynn that given a choice of destinations, I would choose my home. And she's quite right. I work so hard to pay for this place, and to improve it, I like the ability to actually enjoy it from time to time.

Also related to that is why we don't have a cleaning person like some of our friends. In my view:
1) Its my house, its my job to clean it.
2) I don't like strangers in my house.

#1 comes from my mother, and #2 is just the way I am. Though I will admit finding time to clean the house with Gavin gets harder and harder. Once he gets older I'll be putting the kid to work though!

On a final note, don't disrespect the host. I see this from time to time and it just pisses me off. I don't care what problems you have, don't bring it into that person's house. There are a lot of reasons I don't talk to one of my old roommates anymore, but at the top of the list was the massive disrespect I got when they visited the house, and when I was paying most of the rent.

Don't do it, I have a Claymore and I'm not afraid to use it!

Am I Getting Through?

Welcome to those newcomers to this blog. I figured telling my wife about it would keep it between us for about 15 minutes, to be fair I think she actually waited a couple of days. Oh well, added pressure to write better.

One is never quite prepared for when their child starts responding to complex instructions. I mean beyond sit, stop, and no. For me it was a month ago or so when I noticed that Gavin had grabbed some scrap paper in the office and was seeing if it tasted good. Out of exasperation (it had been a long day), I said "Gavin, just throw it away please". And was shocked completely when he did. Knowing that throwing away meant the trash can rather than any other area is actually a big step for little ones. I was quite impressed, but also now cautious as we had passed the time where casual slips of the tounge could be forgiven as Gavin wouldn't understand anyway.

I've always made sure I say please to kids. I think if I'm going to expect them to say it to me, I should at least say it to them. Fair is fair. The same holds with Gavin. Though he cannot say please, many of his day care friends now do, as they know this is the magic word to participate in the "bouncy game" I play when I pick him up at the end of the day. I always asked Charlotte to say it, and it didn't take long to have the other kids catch on. Now I have to spend 10 minutes doing all the kids before I can leave. It can be pretty exhausting, but that's the price you pay for spreading good manners I guess.

Its wierd now that when I ask Gavin to do something, there's a good chance he might actually do it. The exception is "Come here" when we're outside. I know he understands it, he's just ignoring me because he's exploring. I'd be mad except I know I'd do (and did) the same thing. Besides, I can still run faster than he can.

Our playtime is much more fun now as I can say "Go get mommy!", or "I'm gonna get you!" and he responds accordingly. What's fun, is now when confronted with Gavin and Charlotte wanting in someplace they're not supposed to go, I can grab Gavin and tell him to get mommy, then grab Charlotte and tell her to get Gavin. Crisis averted, kids diverted.

He's just changed his schedule, and is doing 1 nap on weekends. But on the bright side he lets us sleep in more (for now). Also he hasn't fought nap time much, and bed time at all. He knows the routine, and he knows he's tired.

The largest sign of our improved communications just happened over the weekend. He was playing with his toy hammer, and then decided to take a couple of whacks at daddy. Probably following some instructions Alix left him during her visit (and don't deny that you'd do it, we both know you would). I told him that was quite unacceptable and took the hammer. He looked sad at me, but didn't cry. He seemed to ponder his action, and that I was sad too. He then came over and gave me my first real hug from him (as opposed to the running and falling on me). That was worth the hammer whack.