next tuesday (october 2nd) is an exciting one for me and my wife, anna, as there are two releases that we are very much looking forward to purchasing. pj harvey has a new one coming entitled white chalk, which should be really sweet. she has consistently put out excellent albums since the early nineties. i can't wait to hear it. for your listening pleasure, there is a chilling new track on her myspace page called "when under ether".
high on anna's list for sure is the new solo album from siouxsie. you heard it right, siouxsie is back yet again, as if she ever left. apparently, she has announced her divorce with banshees and creatures drummer and collaborator, budgie, and she is going at it alone, or at least without him. You can listen to samples of a few tracks from the new album on her official site.
iron and wine has released a new album entitled the shepherd's dog. it is more upbeat music-wise than his previous efforts, drawing from his recent efforts with calexico, i believe, but this is not a bad thing. his voice is as soft and strong as ever, and there are some really good tunes here.
the last thing i picked up this past tuesday was the new one from a new favorite of mine, devendra banhart entitled smokey rolls down thunder canyon. this latest effort includes many songs that seem to call back to his hispanic heritage (he was raised in venezuela), and i swear even includes a gospel track. this is one weird cat, but he makes some really beautiful music that i love to sing along with.
two nights ago, i watched the documentary air guitar nation. wow! wowee-wow-wow! i was blown away. not only was i blown away that there is a legitimate competition out there for this art form - and yes! it is an art form! - but there are others out there that are just as pumped about it as i am. i have found my people!
the documentary covers the 2003 u.s. and world air guitar championships, and closely follows two of the main u.s. contenders, björn türoque and c-diddy. you must watch to understand...
i have been air guitaring for roughly the last 20 or so years. it started with hits from the 80's, such as the wicked riff in michael jackson's "beat it" to the sexy licks of "walk this way" by run-d.m.c. and aerosmith. it continues to this day, while driving, standing in my living room, sitting at my desk at work listening to my ipod, basically any time i hear a riff or solo that gets my soul moving. today, i nearly lost my balance and fell over when air guitaring one of the many solos in the mars volta's "cassandra geminni" suite from their album frances the mute. awesome.
so, i skedaddled over to the u.s. air guitar championships website and registered to receive more information, as it becomes available, about the 2008 competition. oh yes, i plan on doing my best to enter next year, and the training starts now!
krist novoselic has written a book to express many of his political ideas and views. i know i am a bit late on this, as the book was published in 2004, but i bought it recently and gave it a read. i am not a politically minded person by any means, but the book, entitled "of grunge and government: let's fix this broken democracy!" is a fairly easy read, even if you do not quite grasp the world of politics in great depth.
of the many things he discusses throughout the book, one thing that stands out to me is when he talks about the positive ideal, which he describes in the following way:
"why kick around the argument of being against censorship when you can advocate for freedom of expression? why disparage violence when you can promote peace? essentially, the positive ideal is about advancing the possibilities."
he only affords a partial chapter to his time in nirvana, also discussing some of the political actions that came about during that time, such as mtv's rock the vote campaign and a fundraiser headlined by nirvana to oppose "ballot measure 9", which proposed institutionalizing discrimination against gays and lesbians.
one of my favorite quotes from the book, which he writes while stressing the importance of independence and freedom in our country today, reads:
"...people expressing their independence are slapped down by scoundrels draped in red, white, and blue."
The book clocks in at just over 100 pages, so it is a short read. if you don't feel like buying it, maybe check it out from the library, or you can borrow my copy. just ask.
amiina is a band made up of four icelandic women in their mid-twenties. their latest release, kurr, is made up of magnificent instrumentals, that i cannot seem to get enough of. they do not use many traditional instruments, but employ a strange assortment of things they have found in second-hand shops, or just create their instruments themselves. this makes for some very interesting and beautiful moments. as i listen, i find myself thinking, "...what could be making that sound? or that one? oooh, that one is nice!...". indeed! and what style!
please do check out their music. you can have a listen to a few tracks on their myspace page.
