Monthly Archives: June 2013

Album Review: Beady Eye – BE – Garage Band Version of Oasis

by Christopher Margolin

 

The lesser Gallagher brother, Liam, has finally put out the second Beady Eye album, Be. He quickly lets us know that there’s ”No point laughing if you don’t know why,” Liam sings in “Second Bite of the Apple.” Well, I know exactly why I’m laughing. You have once again proved that you are not your brother, and you are not Oasis – even if the majority of your band used to be.

I almost feel bad for Liam Gallagher, with his hyperbolized views of how wonderful he is, and how better off he is now that Oasis is done. In the near twenty years that Oasis put out albums, it wasn’t until the last couple of releases where Liam even had any credit for lyrics. The first song he penned was a simple love song for his newborn, and it was probably the most boring track on that CD. Unfortunately, he hasn’t gotten any better.

In “Soon Come Tomorrow,” Liam tries to be a bit more delicate and pensive, by writing, “I see the faces, they’re laughing, crying. Why is it our hearts are breaking, dying? …. This song is over, so look past the end. Soon comes tomorrow again.” I truly hope not. I don’t want to see a tomorrow for Beady Eye.

I’d love to write something good about this album – at least about the music – but I can’t. It sounds like a garage band version of Oasis. These would have been passible b-sides for the Be Here Now sessions, which is widely considered the worst album in the Oasis catalogue. Noel was the songwriter for Oasis, and it’s fairly obvious the gene skipped right over Liam. It won’t be long before he’s swallowing his pride, and looking past his anger, in order to beg for an Oasis reunion.

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The Oldest Bookstore in the World – Re-blogged From BookRiot.Com

by Christopher Margolin

 

COOL BOOKISH PLACES

The Oldest Bookstore in the World: The Bertrand Bookstore in Lisbon

We hear a lot about bookstores closing these days: many indies, your neighborhood Barnes & Noble maybe, and, well, every Borders.

So I thought it would be refreshing to find the oldest bookstore in the world to get a little perspective. And did I get it.

The Bertrand Bookstore in Lisbon, Portugal has been open since 1732. That’s right, 281 years. It was open by Peter Faure to be a hub of Lisbon’s art and intellectual scene, over time, has become the cornerstone of the Bertrand bookstore chain, has more than 50 stores throughout Portugal. Now, it hasn’t been at this location since 1732, just since 1755 when the original store was destroyed in the great earthquake that leveled much of the city (and was the inspiration for Voltaire’s Candide).

Faure turned the store over to the Bertrand Brothers a few decades after opening it, and the Bertrands got their own printing press, held workshops on printing and writing, and even have their own font (the font of the store sign in the images below.

Don’t you feel a little better?

 

Bertrand corner

 

bertrand interior

 

bertrand cornerstone

 

 

Album Review: Sigur Ros – Kveikur – I’m Sorry, Could You Repeat That?

by John Robertson

 

This is defeintely something new for me, Sigur Ros a band from Iceland. The album “Kveikur” is a hard one for me to review, but not because the music is bad, because it isn’t – actually it’s very good. I like the instruments and how well they sound together, it’s just the fact that the lyrics aren’t in English so I cannot understand anything the lead singer is saying; so I decided to scour the Internet in the attempt to get a translation. It was a success! Please read the sarcasm in that last sentence. Getting a translation proved to be even more confusing, maybe because the lyrics make no sense when translated from Icelandic to English, or maybe because the lead singer, Jonsi, uses words that are completely made up. Whatever the case is, I do enjoy this band very much; the vocals are used less as a way to get lyrics but more as a way to convey emotions and as an instrument themselves. This is not bad music at all, far from it, but seeing as this is The Poetry Question, and I am supposed to review music based on lyrics, I cannot do my job since the lyrics make little to no sense. This is an album that you have to listen to and feel it rather than focus on the lyrics and wordplay because you will be lost if you do not speak Icelandic, or the band’s made-up language, dubbed Hopelandic.

Related articles
  • Album Review: Sigur Rós ‘Kveikur’ (deathandtaxesmag.com)

Album Review: Stephen Kellogg – Blunderstone Rookery – Leaving an Indelible Mark

by Christopher Margolin

 

From the opening chord progression and shaker percussion of “Lost and Found,” it feels like Kellogg has moved toward a Paul Simon approach to songwriting. It’s a very intimate turn for someone who has always seemed to hide behind the voice of characters. It seems that without the Sixers behind him, he’s able to open up a bit more to himself, as well as his listeners.

I think the whole philosophy behind this album boils down to a line from “The Brain is a Beautiful Thing,” where he lets us know “You may not like, but I’m free to say, it’s alright, it’s my brain. Guess what? It’s a beautiful thing.” This is finally his time to shine on his own, and he does it well.

One major aspect of this album that sets it apart from other Kellogg discs is the production. Where he starts out a bit toward Paul Simon, he moves through sounds ranging from The Clash to Tom Petty to Ryan Adams to Alison Krauss. But the best thing about it is that he doesn’t feel lost. It works. As odd as it might seem, it works well.

I think Kellogg has found his footing on his own, and I think he’s, as he says in “Ingrid’s Song,” he’s “left his mark indelibly” on the world of music.

Grab a copy of Stephen Kellogg’s Blunderstone Rookery on itunes.

Album Review – Ludacris – #IDGAF About Lyrics

by John Robertson

I am so happy to be able to review this mixtape from one of my idols Ludacris. I have been listening to Luda since before I can remember. I have his entire discography from “Incognegro” till this mixtape “#IDGAF” and I am currently waiting for his latest project to release. This is the music that is really great to have at a party or bump in the club, Ludacris’ music makes the ladies want to dance and I like that. He is a rap veteran who has been active for almost 18 years, and has been able to stay consistent with his music. That is something that most artists cannot proudly admit about themselves.

That being said the lyrics on this mixtape are not clever or cunning, if anything they are typical rap lyrics that speak of drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and having sex. So I feel like I don’t need to quote anything from this mixtape. Maybe the reason this mixtape is called “#IDGAF” is because Ludacris does not give a fuck about lyrics? This is just a thought, I’m not hating on Luda for the lack of cleverness in his verses, but he could definitely do better… Actually I could quote Ludacris himself on the track “IDGAF,” “Luda quit playin around and get some work done.”

Related articles
  • Ludacris – #IDGAF Mixtape (whatsthewave.wordpress.com)

Album Review: Denison Witmer – Self-Titled – Feelings Too Old to Die Young Now

by Christopher Margolin

 

Sometimes you stumble upon those artists who have slipped under your radar for far too long. Luckily, I now know who Denison Witmer is, and I think I’m much better because of it. With guest appearances from William Fitzsimmons and Sufjan Stevens, his latest self-titled album already had some fire-power in the world of subtle singer-songwriters. But while both add elegant backing vocals, Witmer doesn’t need them to succeed on this album.

Such subtlety in songwriting leads to an immense amount of emotion. This album is proof that you don’t need to overwhelm the listener in order to make a statement. His lyrics are the standout on this disc. In his song “Made Out For This,” he promises, “You could be whatever you want / But I know that you’re feeling older / And I can do/ whatever I want / If you’re looking across my shoulders,” and you believe that he is truly made out for anything. And while many of his songs are solemn, there is a sense of pride behind every word he sings. In “Take More Than You Need,” he tells his love, “If you’re lying awake / With my hands on your waist /Wondering what you can take from me / Take more than you need.”

Well, Denison, this is exactly what I need on a beautiful summer morning.

Grab the album from his Bandcamp Site.

The Bedroom is a Sanctuary for Sleeping, Sex, and Reading.

by Christopher Margolin

photo

 

It’s 80 degrees in Vancouver, Washington right now. It’s almost 7pm, and it’s finally that time of the year where I regret not having air conditioning, or larger fans, or that the insulation in my attic is too thin and far from up to code. I’m in the process of recovering from surgery, and I’ve been fairly bed-ridden for the last week, and with a few days to go, I think I’ve watched my way through Netflix, caught up in Californication, killed a handful of flies, and stared out my bedroom window enough times to memorize the curves on the gutter down spout that sits almost three feet from the sill. The one thing I’ve yet to do is the one thing that I’ve truly wanted to do this whole time – read.

I thought that given my situation, I’d be drawn to books, but unfortunately that has not been the case. I ordered a lot of them, and as they’ve begun to show up, I’ve definitely been excited to see them – but I haven’t opened them yet. Well, I opened up the autographed copy of Chorus by Saul Williams, and it made me smile to know that I have something I’ve coveted for so long.

I don’t read much beyond my basic curriculum during the school year. For some reason I felt as if reading during the school year made me lose focus on what I was doing in my classroom. It’s a sad excuse, and one that I know is an excuse. I’ve been using it for a long time. The honest truth is that I enjoy the mental shutdown of watching television, and reading at home sounds tedious at times. All that changed over the last couple of days.

I spent the first five days of recovery at my parents’ house, in order to give my fiance an ample opportunity to move around the house a bit. We combined households almost a year ago, but have finally started to make the home ours versus mine. She moved our bedroom into a different room, changed around the living room, and reorganized to truly make this place look like a home for the first time in the three years I’ve lived here. One of the main changes is that we’ve removed the television from the bedroom. It had become a distraction. The bedroom, as she would say, “is a sanctuary for two things: sleeping and sex.” How on earth can I argue with that? That being said, now that I’m home, and confined to the bedroom for a few more days, it’s become a room where I can sit down and read instead of watch movies the entire day.

Last night, I read B by Sarah Kay. It was a short children’s book of a solitary poem, with gorgeous simplistic illustrations. Well worth the read, and a nice way to ease back into things. Tonight I will start on Chorus by Saul Williams. I’m a huge fan of his work – both music and poetry – so I’m truly looking forward to digging into the text. It’s a signed copy, so I’ll take my notes on sticky notes instead of inside the book itself, and unfortunately, this means I won’t be underlining phrases, or highlight things that truly stick out. I’m okay with that. I’ll survive on scattered yellow notes throughout the book.

So, tonight I settle in with a margarita, and a nice book of hard-hitting poetry. Sounds like a fantastic evening to me.

Suli Breaks – Dormroom EP – Free Download of a Fantastic New Voice in Poetry / Rap

by Christopher Margolin

 

Suli Breaks is a poet that one of my students introduced me to this year. He’s a fantastic voice for the younger generation, and has just released The Dormroom EP for free on his website. It’s absolutely worth your time to grab a copy of this – and it’s free, so why wouldn’t you? I could spend time reviewing it, but I want to let his words speak for the quality of this EP. All I will say is that if you are looking for one of the best new voices, this is what you should be listening to right now.

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Album Review: Bronze Radio Return – Up, On & Over – The Feel Good Album of the Summer

by John Robertson

This is some great feel good music for all you indie fans to add to your summer-fun playlists. Listening to this album makes me think of driving to the beach with the top down, wind in my hair, and the warmth of the California sun on my skin. The songs on this album sound like they belong on commercials advertising all the cliches of summer. I feel like someone in the PR department of some big brand company should listen to this band and and put a sample of any one of these songs into a commercial for Samsung phones or Levi’s jeans, or even just sitting around a bonfire at the beach while some guy plays acoustic guitar sings the songs of summer happiness.

This is the type of music that Bronze Radio Return has made, with very uplifting lyrics such as “Lead your way/ Sing your song/ Moving everyday/ Going further on,” from the song “Further On;” this such a great album. I find it impossible to be in a bad mood while listening to this album or even write anything negative about it. I don’t even listen to this genre of music at all, but the vibes that I get from this album make me want to grab as much of it as I possibly can, Bronze Radio Return has opened my ears to a brand new genre of music that I have never known before. Now I am angry at myself for not having listened to this sooner. I have been looking to expand my musical selections beyond that of hip-hop/rap music and I believe that I have found that in the indie rock genre.

Related articles
  • 10 ‘summer’ songs to add to your playlist (TBO.com)

QOTD- Remember that? That was awesome.

by Doran Simmons
Peaches (The Presidents of the United States o...

Peaches (The Presidents of the United States of America song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Follow the music. I’ll meet you by the toilets.”

That’s the text I got from inside the concert that my friend claimed I had to see. I hadn’t planned on going anywhere tonight, but his enthusiasm was contagious. “Get down here, man. I got a ticket for you. No money out of pocket.” Those were the magic words. I grabbed my keys and headed downtown to see The Presidents of the United States of America. The band. Not the surviving office holders. In case I’m not being clear, Jimmy Carter was not there. But, after a short drive, I was.

I forgot how much I liked this band. That self-titled album from the mid-nineties is full of undeniable jams, many of which they played while I drank beer and sang along. As soon as they started playing, I was having a great time. I was sixteen again, driving my hatchback in the sun while ‘Kick Out The Jams’ played on the tapedeck.

When we enjoy art, we internalize it. Whether it’s a song you like that becomes associated in your mind with driving to your girlfriend’s house, or a beloved book you reread every year and always seems to transport you back to the beach house where you first opened it’s cover a decade ago.

Is there a work that never fails to make you feel good? A book, a song, a picture or a sculpture that has become inextricably linked for you to a feeling of contentment? Is it as silly as a record about peaches and spiders that drive cars?

 

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