Album of the Week: Number Phive

The album of the week this week is:



(Come on Feel The) Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens


While I was hurriedly chatting away with friends on AOL Instant Messanger® one , my sister's chat box popped up saying "listen to this!" I rolled my eyes as I saw the file she was trying to send. As much as my sister tried, all the songs she sent me didn't help me enjoy a modern artists. I grudgingly agreed to listening to it, and started to hear the violin harmonies on a song called "Jacksonville."

The beautifully harmonized violin bowing is met with a sudden stop to start the song, met with a lush piano riff. The piano riff is soon juxtaposed against warm guitars, solid drums and peciliur banjo arrangment, that strangely fits in. The whole song is powerfully moved with the vocals that procede it, and the song starts to have a snowball chaotic approach to it, that somehow sounds organized. Instruments are layered, until it approaches a big band-dense sound which suddenly drops out at the climax of the song. This is definitely the best song on the album, but there are so many other highlights.

All of the music on this album is intellegently put together. Musical instruments are harmonized and sound completely neccesary, have pure sounds, amazing counter-points in melody and rhythm, along with compelling and touching lyrics. Sufjan touches subjects that range from playful images to the humanized emotions due to a friend's chronic illness.

The best part of this album is its quirkiness and ability to personify ideas with musical phrasings equivalent to the subject matter. This album has been part of his project to compose a concept album based on the cultural and musical aspects of all fifty states. His composition on the subject of superman shows the agressive side of the character with the angrier sounding instruments, with plenty of distortion, as well as the sensitive side personifyed by the sudden drop into a soft, vocal harmony filled verse.

Although the album seems to be quite long, with 22 track, many of the tracks are short, few second clips which seem to be as important as all the other tracks. "One Last 'Woohoo'" is a great buffer between the acoustic, country-tinged song "Decatur" and the electric, synthesized textured song "Chicago." None of the material here ever appears to be filler, in any form.

Previously, I had yet to fall in love with an artist that had released an album after the year 2000. The lush textures and beautiful melodies will continue to play in my stereo, play after play. This is a must buy album.

Current Event

11/26/07

Afghan suicide attack kills two

A suicide car bomb targeting a foreign military convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul has killed two civilians.
The attack took place outside a defence ministry building close to the British, Canadian and Pakistani embassies.

Officials said the vehicle used in the attack was badly damaged and the bomber was killed. Several people have been wounded in the blast.

More than 3,000 people have been killed this year as Afghan and foreign forces battle Taleban fighters in Afghanistan.

The bomber damaged three armoured vehicles, but none of the troops was injured, Associated Press quoted coalition spokesman Lt-Col David Johnson as saying.

The attack took place in Wazir Akbar Khan suburb, which is close to the city centre where many diplomatic missions, politicians and several of the international aid agencies operating in Afghanistan are based.

There has been an increase in suicide bomb attacks in Kabul this year.

Two of the worst suicide attacks in the city have targeted army buses - in all, 65 people were killed.

Seriously? This is an almost rediculous ideal. Suicide bombing do nothing but inconvenience. These humans are brainwashed into destroying themselves for a cause which is nothing more than attempting to dismantle structured society. There is no deemable solution to these actions, as they would constantly be used to change any upkept concept or law.

On the morbid side of things, this affects the world more. There is more lookout for the nasty tactics of terrorists, and more people are being wounded and killed, just for being in the cross-fire. This is really human nature at its worst. The problem is such: how can we get people to stop?

We cannot tell them that it is wrong. Not only has it been tried, but it is not any way to convince a radical. We cannot prevent them from doing it, as there are too many, with too many ideas on how to kill themselves in different ways and varying tactics on getting around security. We cannot let them win and we cannot help them lose. It is in fact a Catch-22, one which will likely be worsened with time.

Album of the Week # Fore

The album of the week this week is: Odessey And Oracle by the Zombies

Before high school, I was scarcely interested in music. As my interest in music grew, I decided to set a goal for myself. I assembled a list of "must have" albums from different books about the best albums ever and the Rolling Stones list of 500 greatest albums ever. Up till the past week, I had completed the list barring three entries:Never Mind the Bollucks, Here's the Sex Pistols by the Sex Pistols, London Calling by the Clash and Odessey and Oracle by the Zombies.

On the topic of forgotten artists, there are few that shine clearly with musical relevance today. The Zombies is the most prevalent of these lost acts. This album starts off with the harmonies and musical textures of a musically talented band. Their sole remembered material is limited to the song "Time of the Season."

The album starts off with the twangy notes of a piano, leading into the luscious pop sounds of "Care of Cell 44." It sets the mood for the album: catchy and introspective. The second track continues the jazz-like feel of Rod Argent's piano clusters. The whole album is filled with full-bodied harmonies and melody lines that continually play in the listeners head.

The album has the potential to sound dated, but still exuberates a fresh feel. The band used experimental techniques when applying instruments such as the mellotron's flute sounds, which are tastefully used and do not sound unrealistic. The avante-garde practices on this album are due to the Zombies' lack of budget when it came to studio musicians. Throughout the band's history, the Zombies were never graced with chart success. Their only previous chart success was their single "She's Not There," which was the sole reason they were signed to Decca.

Some of the lyrics contain a melancholy feel ("The summer is here at last/The sky is overcast/And no one brings a rose for Emily"), which would make sense due to their lack of success, but are still not depressing. The mood exerts a weary and tired hope, similar to the faith that Job had after his many troubles. This LP is in part of the long run of albums I have recently purchased that would is perfectly suited for a rainy day.

The remastered, remixed album is loaded with bonus tracks. The remastered album came with the original stereo mix of the album, a mono mix of the album, and three alternate versions of tracks on the album, while the sound is clear and clean.

Though this isn't the best album I own, it is definitely something I will constantly listen to.

Album of the Week: 3rd Edition

The album of the week this week is:



Speaking in Tongues - The Talking Heads

Fortunately, I spent time this week cleaning up. As I was looking for my dusted old copies of Sim Tower and the Sims Hot Date (in order to pass time, of course!), I stumbled upon a nice little stack of CD's in my parent's computer room. It was the last of the CD piles I had checked out (that were scattered around numerous parts of the house) and I found an album with an interesting cover, such as you see above.

I had always liked the earlier Talking Heads I owned. Their debut, '77 was sublime and their More Songs About Buildings and Food had several classics.

A background on the Talking Heads is such: David Byrne, an intellectual songwriting genious, gathered together a few of his fellow students at the Rhode Island School of Design and created a band that was the first of many to be labeled as "New Wave." The band showed an eccentric side with Byrne's edgy, out-of-range-singing style and agressive instrumental playing.

When first popping the CD on my long drive to baseball practice, I heard the faint noises of an acoustic guitar. I was oddly surprised, as it was the polar opposite of the Talking Heads' style. My worries were negated when I heard Byrne's solid "eeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEHHHH..." into the opening song "Burning Down the House," a classic among fans of the band.

Throughout the course of the album, I was bobbing my head to the agressive beats, solid playing, and angry singing. There was no sense in trying to make sense of the lyrics on this album, such that I went with the flow and ended up participating in the nonsense banter of each song. Skillfully, the band avoides self-indulgent concepts or hard to access melodies in such listenable music.

Highlights included "Girlfriend is Better" and "Swamp". These overlooked songs were immediately catchy. In the former I was shouting with Byrne about my girlfriend who was better than this, and listening to David quickly yelping, "Is it!?" after each line in the chorus. The song started out with an infectious beat and Byrne asking who took the money. In the latter song I was screaming at the top of my lungs "HI! HI HI HI HI HIIIIIIII!" and looking to my right to see a transfixed (and shocked) gaze from the driver on my right. "Burning Down the House" is so catchy, it's no wonder that it was the Head's first Top 10 hit.

All the members on this album contribute amazing, layered synthesizer textures, solid guitar tracks, and choral backround vocals. The guitars are twangy, the drums solid, the bass plucky, the voices excited and energetic and the songwriting superb. The feel of the music is assured, and surprisingly sophisticated, and completely singable (if you're willing to go hoarse for the rest of the day).

The album made for great driving music, keeping me awake and energetic, and made for a great reason why every driver on the road can gawk at me.

Vocab 11

Metamorphosis - transfiguration: a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances.

One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a giant cockroach.







Quotidian-occurring or returning every day; daily

One may say that school is a quotidian idea. Students are constantly subject to the lack of choice known as school. Many are marked for 13 years and are forced to complete their track, whether they need to or not.








Reparation- compensation (given or received) for an insult or injury

Compensation is communly used in the phrase, 'An act without compensation.' We, as the United States, have done many things throughout history that is so horrid and disfiguring that there is no redeemable compensation.