Top 5 Albums From the 1st Half of 2009

With the first half of 2009 ALREADY behind us, I have been thinking about all the great music that has been released so far this year. I was going to make this a Top 10 list but decided to make things more difficult by only picking my 5 favorites. So, drumroll please!

1. Eels- "Hombre Lobo"

2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

3. Camera Obscura- "My Maudlin Career"


4. Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest

5. Bonnie "Prince" Billy- "Beware"

3 albums due the 2nd half of 2009 that I can't wait for.

1. Bombay Bicycle Club-7/7/09
2. The Arctic Monkeys-8/25/09
3. Yo La Tengo-9/8/09

Pain Is a Reliable Signal

CD Title-Pain Is A Reliable Signal
Artist-The Flying Change
Release Date- 5/19/09

Pain Is A Reliable Signal is New York based songwriter Sam Jacobs' first album release under the moniker The Flying Change. Jacob's previous releases, 2006's 'Everything Is Good' and an EP released in the winter of 2008 titled 'There Is Only One Thing' were released under the name Lipstik.

The album draws a lot of it's content and feeling from the pain that Jacobs and his wife have been through in the past few years. His wife was was diagnosed with latent spinal birth defects that were causing extreme pain in her Sciatic nerve. After two experimental surgeries that only led to disabling back pain. This led them to search out a Hail Mary cure at The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. However doctors at the clinic informed Jacobs and his wife that they knew of no way to treat or remedy her condition. This album retells this story in the all so familiar themes of love, loss, pain and reclaimation.

The song 'The Mayo Clinic' is vaguely based on a trip to the clinic but is told from a different perspective then Jacobs'.
The violin of Antoine Silverman cuts through the song perfectly and you can feel the pain being released by bow and strings. The highlight of Pain is the song 'Don't Look Away'. Jacob's releases his inner Springsteen vocals over a Radiohead-esque track that speaks to the optimism he holds in his heart.

All in all this CD is pared down to the bare necessities and it is all the much better for it. If you hear it in a song you know that Jacob's felt it has to be there to make the song better. I can guarantee this album is going to get some heavy rotation on my iPod. It has everything one could ask for in a CD. Dubbed by Jacobs as "Landscape Pop", Pain it is void of any song that I wanted to skip.

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Let's Ignore the Question

Here's my take on last night's VP debate. Sarah Palin seemed to do just what John McCain and the Republican party wanted her to. That was to not answer any of the questions asked by moderator Gwen Ifill. Gov. Palin starred in her very own political infomercial constantly dodging questions and reverting back to her talking points about when she was the mayor of Wasilla or her 2 years of being governor of a state that has a population that is 1/10 the size of New York City. She even went as far as to say to Sen. Biden, "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people."

I found it very amusing to watch this debate unfold last night and at one point sent a text message to my friend Matt saying that she is so damn phony. He responded with the eloquence and humor that he so often does saying, Gee golly. Gosh darn. Ned Flanders wannabe.

So I've decided to vote for neither McCain or Obama in a little over a month. I know for a fact that I don't want some make-believe Maverick, John McBush in the White House and Barack is not without his faults either so...I'm voting for...Ralph Nader. Obama is already going to win the election and I'll be able to sleep at night. Thanks Matt

Ghetto Revival

Some of you may remember John Brown form VH1's The White Rapper Show and his "Ghetto Revival" nonsense but this video I just found is hilarious. Not to mention he makes some very good points.  "You make my heart beat away, knowing you're a heartbeat away." 

I hope everyone tunes in to tonight's stand-up comedy act disguised as a Vice Presidential debate. With the things that these two have said in the past it should be a treat. Let's see if Gov. Palin has thought of a supreme court case other then Roe v. Wade that she disagrees with. Lol!! You have got to be kidding me Mrs. Palin! I'm sure I'll be back later to weigh in with my 2 cents on tonight's action. 

I Love Having You Stuck In My Head

For my first blog posting I want to talk about a band that I have not been able to stop listening to lately, and when I do find myself separated from my iPod I can't get their catchy lyrics and foot-stomping beats out of my head. The Airborne Toxic Event is a 5 piece band from SoCal that sounds like The Cure, The Smiths and Velvet Underground rolled into one. The lyrics of front man Mikel Jollet are familiar to anyone who has loved and lost but in a way you've not quite heard before. You feel the pain in his voice and you are immediately taken to a time in your life when you hurt the way he does in his songs.

Sometime Around Midnight