Good Stuff 2012

So here it is, the obligatory "year in review".  I don't have the typical "best of" list for you or any of that crap.  Instead, I thought I'd recap the live shows that we saw this year (since those are always highlights) and then tell you some of the stuff I loved the most this year.  That's it, short and sweet.  Well, probably more sweet than short, I've never been known for my brevity.

We saw four live shows this year.  I know that's not very many for a lot of people, but for me it was a huge increase.  Hopefully 2013 has even more shows in store for us!  (We already have tickets to see Matchbox Twenty in February, so that's a good start)  In February we saw Matt Nathanson at Headliners Music Hall in Louisville, KY.  Rachel Platten opened for him and it was a great show (as always).  It was far and away my favorite show of the year because we met Aaron Tap after the show.  I was totally star struck and probably didn't say anything intelligent to him, but he was very friendly nonetheless and it was totally cool to be in his presence.  Maybe someday I'll run into him again and be able to string more than 2 words together in a row, that would be cool. 

In June my sister and I sold merch for the aforementioned Rachel Platten when she came back and played Headliners as a headliner.  Madi Diaz opened for her and they really put on a great show.  So good in fact that our next show was a week later when we went to see Madi open for Harper Blynn at zBar in Louisville.  She is so great that we just went to see her. We both had to work the next day so we only stayed for one song of Harper Blynn's set. 

Our final show of the year was Dr. Dog at Marathon Music Works in Nashville.  The openers for this one shall remain nameless to protect the sucky, but I cannot say enough about Dr. Dog live.  They are absolutely amazing and I loved every second of it.  Which leads me one of my great loves of 2012 - Dr. Dog.  If you're not familiar with this band, I suggest you get that way.  I have 4 of their albums so far and I have yet to hear them make a sound I don't love. 

I've also been very into Paula Kelley's work this year.  I can't get enough of her vocals and all of her arrangements are genius.  Every time I listen to anything by her I hear something new and wonderful in it.  And it's not only the music, her lyrics are so intelligent and crafty - seriously, what's not to love about this woman?  On a related note, I've also been totally obsessed with Betty Goo (which, admittedly makes me kind of sad since they're not active anymore).  Betty Goo was fronted by the multi-talented Aaron Tap and they are just awesome.  I love the quirkiness of them and I love that it feels like 90's rock (which it is) but with so much more soul and brains.

I've also come to really love Simon and Garfunkel this year.   Yes, I'm aware that I'm about 40 years late to that party, but better late than never, right?  They are just so amazing, there is a reason their music has stood the test of time.  Another band wagon I'm a little late to is Carbon Leaf.  Their music is so good, so heartfelt, and they seem like such nice guys.  I highly recommend you give them a listen.

A measurable amount of 2012 was spent in record stores.  I've been collecting vinyl this year and there are few things I like more than leisurely browsing through racks of old vinyl.  Our local record store (Joe's Records) is my favorite in the area, but it was blown out of the water when I visited Grimey's in Nashville, TN.  However, Joe's is 10 minutes from my house and Grimey's is 3 1/2 hours away, so I'm pretty sure Joe's will get the majority of my business. 

Finally, my absolute favorite musical thing of 2012 is Ryan Schmidt's White Horse - EP.  It was released January 10, 2012 (the day before my birthday, coincidentally) and I've been listening to it all year.  I just love it.  It's raw and emotional and stripped down - just wonderful.  I get the feeling that we're not going to get another record from Ryan that sounds like this one and that's okay.  I'm just glad to have this one.  I like that so far all of his records sound different, you can hear him feeling his way around and finding his voice.  It's such a fun journey to listen to.

Here's a few more artists who's work I've loved in 2012 that you shouldn't miss:
- The New Complainers
- Jesse Macht
- Boy Wonder
- The Black Keys
- Violent Femmes
- Plants and Animals
- Rooftop Suicide Club (this one may be tough to find, but totally worth it if you can get it)

Okay guys, that's it for me for 2012.  This year had a little bit of everything - some fun, some hard times, some great music, some total crap, some awesome experiences and some low-key peaceful days.  Overall it's been a totally decent year.  I hope 2013 is even better for all of us. 

Record Store Day 2012 - Part Deux

Now that I finally have a job, I've had a chance to go out and celebrate Record Store Day 2012 a bit.  I won't receive my first paycheck until this coming Friday, so I haven't really done it up in style yet, but I did pick up a couple cool things. Here's what I've found so far:

The Kills - Blood Pressures
Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona
Bess Rogers - Out of the Ocean
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends

While all four are cool, I'm far and away the most tickled with Bookends.  I've had it on my shopping list for a while now and just had a vague hope someday seeing it.  Believe it or not, I found it in a used bin for $1.99!!  It looked clean, but for that price, I didn't have much hope it sounding worth a shit.  It has obviously been played a lot and it's on that crappy old thin vinyl, but it plays!  And not only does it play, it sounds heavenly.  It has that perfect scratchy, crackley sound that is only available on old vinyl.  Don't get me wrong, I would never want all my vinyl to sound this way, but something about those two singing Mrs. Robinson over that scratchy background noise is just incredible.

Supporting My Local Record Store

Today my husband and I ventured out into the world (even though we didn't really have to) and killed two birds with one stone.  By that I mean that we supported my record habit and our local record shop at the same time.  Our store is Joe's Records - they have 4 locations so if you ever find yourself in Corydon, Indiana; Evansville, Indiana; Mt. Vernon, Illinois; or Defiance, Ohio stop in and buy something so they can stay open!

Pickin's were kind of slim today (or I was was especially picky), but here's what I ended up with:



I was actually looking to add Bookends to my Simon & Garfunkel collection but I ended up finding Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme instead.  I haven't listened to it yet, but it's Paul Simon writing songs and Art Garfunkel singing them, so there's no possible way it will be bad.

I was digging through the "D"s looking for Bob Dylan's Oh, Mercy when what to my wondering eyes did appear?  Dr. Dog's 2010 release Shame, Shame, that's what!  This record has been on my shopping list for a little while and I didn't really expect to find it here, much less on vinyl.  It's another one I haven't heard (have you ever even heard of such living on the edge??) but I've heard that it's awesome, so now I have it - I'll let you know what I think.





Sunday Vinyl

Yesterday afternoon we went to Half Price Books and I browsed the used CD rack for a while.  I was lucky enough to find Regina Spektor's Begin to Hope and Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water.  I'm telling you right now, if that song ("Bridge Over Troubled Water") doesn't, at the very least, put a lump in your throat, you really need to have a serious conversation with yourself about your humanity.  Dude, it's a killer.  This album also has "The Boxer" on it, which is my all time favorite S&G song, so it was a major steal at $4.79. 

Then we went and visited my favorite little record store (which happens to be right here in our tiny little town) and not only did I join their vinyl club, but we also found Rubber Factory by The Black Keys and Dr. Dog's new release Be The Void, both on vinyl.  I had never heard anything by Dr. Dog before, I had only heard that Shame, Shame was an incredible record.  It was so exciting and old school to buy something that I had never heard before (you know, I hadn't previewed it on iTunes yet) that I just couldn't resist.  And, thankfully, I was not disappointed.

We listened to Rubber Factory as soon as we got home.  The record shop guy said it was far and away his favorite album by The Black Keys, but I don't know about that.  Don't get me wrong, it is quite good, but it doesn't have quite the gritty, sexy groove that Thickfreakness has.  Maybe it's the cover art...who knows.  Rubber Factory is much more mellow though, so if that's the mood you're in, it's definitely the right record.  Pretty sure the record shop guy is a bit of a stoner, so I can see where he's coming from.

All in all, it was a good music weekend.  Now, if I could just talk my laptop and iTunes into getting together and importing all these CDs I've purchased lately, that would be awesome.  It gave up after Gooicide.  I guess that was just too much awesome for it to handle.

Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Album: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Release: October 19, 1964

Perhaps the greatest gift an artist can give us is the gift of music.  I don't necessarily mean their own music (although, that is a precious gift to be sure), but the music that inspires them.  The music they listen to.  It not only gives us something new (and possibly awesome) to listen to; it also gives us some insight into where they're coming from as musicians. 

So you have to love it when you go to a live show expecting to hear that artist's music and then he gives you 3 other (classic) artists' music too!!  And that's exactly what happened at the last show I went to.  That's how my interest in Simon and Garfunkel was stirred.  They (him and him) did an amazing acoustic version of "The Boxer" that inspired me to go find the original and partake in the awesome.  I was so blown away by it that I've decided to start at the beginning and take the full Simon and Garfunkel trip.  I've been a fan of "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon forever (love, love, love that little bass line in the middle) - but this music is much, MUCH different from that.

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was their debut album which, thanks in large part to at little band called The Beatles busting out in the U.S. at about the same time, saw little commercial success.  It took a couple years for people to really come around to appreciating their music (seems like that happens to some of the best albums).  This one is kind of a mix of gospel and folk music.  Personally, I could do without the gospel-feeling songs being as I don't exactly believe in them and therefore am not really inspired by them.  But I have to admit, there is something simply hypnotic about "Benedictus".  It kind of makes me wish that I wanted to go to church. 

This is not one of those albums (and "The Boxer" is not one of those songs...so I think it might be a Simon and Garfunkel thing) that you can listen to in passing and really appreciate it.  You can't let it bounce off of you, you have to let it soak in.  Ear buds and dark rooms were made for this kind of music.  Listening to this record felt like having my head underwater in a hot bathtub.  The music and the vocals come together to just fill up all the spaces.  I'm not sure everyone on earth would love this record, but I should think that everyone could at least appreciate the raw talent and brilliance that was involved in creating this sound 48 years ago.

I thought I would have to approach this album with my mind full of the social climate in 1964 in order to really appreciate it.  But as I laid in bed last night listening to it, I realized that perhaps the world we live in now is not so different from the one these songs were written in.

"He Was My Brother", a song about a soldier lost in war could easily be written today.  And if this song doesn't make you break out in cold chills then you need to check your pulse.  Another timely tune on this record is "The Sound of Silence".  Even if you think you don't know any Simon and Garfunkel, you know this song.  It's the one that starts out, "Hello, Darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again."  It's a beautiful song.  They're all beautiful songs.  Paul Simon's songwriting is genius and Art Garfunkel's voice is enchanting and together, it's just magic.

My Current Addiction

This song was wrapped in an amazing bow (in the form of Matt Nathanson and Aaron Tap) and given to me as a gift November 5th at The Cannery Ballroom.  My packaging isn't as awesome, but here it is for you:

Genius.