This spring in Oklahoma has been particularly scary. For the past two weeks we've been surrounded by bad weather. The big tornado in Moore was three hours away, but that same night a smaller tornado touched down about five miles away from where we went to take shelter.

Through all the bad weather this song plays in the foreground of my mind. . . .I hope it does.

Last weekend two good friends and I had the chance to catch Yo La Tengo live at the Showbox in Seattle. The Showbox is one of my favorite venues and Yo La Tengo, it turns out, is one of my favorite bands. I have always enjoyed YLT's output but I realized after seeing them live that they are one of my top 25 favorite bands, (Like I have a list or something... I'm working on a list fyi).

The show was unique because there was no opener and YLT played a handful of songs in an opening acoustic set before taking a break and returning with an electric set. The acoustic set was enjoyable, with new songs and a few old. We were very close to the stage so it was nice and intimate to hear, especially Georgia, singing. But I was there to have my face melted off by Ira's feedback laden guitar work, burning organ lines and James' thudding bass. I was not disappointed. Ira looks like he could be your boring uncle or some guy who works at a grocery store but he literally flings himself and his guitar around in a savage destruction your ears. I loved it, especially fuzzed out favorites like "Sugarcube", and "The Story of Yo La Tengo."

The band topped off a great show with an encore of cover songs. They covered the Velvet Underground and even a song by the Soft Boys. And to make things even better Peter Buck from R.E.M., who lives in Seattle, joined them for the encore playing a sparkling pink Danelectro 12 string guitar! What a show! Thank you Yo La Tengo.

- Earl

The National's new album came out last week. We haven't bought it yet, so I'm listening to High Violet this morning instead. My song of the day is "Sorrow" because it is just the greatest song ever.

Thunderclap is a lot of things: talented, creative, funny, strange, dramatic, driven, energetic, and legitimate. The Niagara Falls native is currently working on his first solo record Hellbent for Success, and he's doing it all on his own (with the help of Feist producer Spooky Ruben).

He just started an Indiegogo campaign with a goal of $13,000 to fund his album. He's already made $3,500, and he still has four weeks to go. His music reminds me of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Johnny Cash, Murder By Death, and Dead Man's Bones. I recognize those influences are all over the board, but he has a very unique and theatrical sound that hasn't really been done before. I've never seen Thunderclap live, but, judging by his costumes, I can see a connection to Reggie and the Full Effect as well.

Thunderclap describes his album as "a concept album, a mishmash of socioeconomic commentary, flashes of pop media, and surreal narrative brilliance."

I obviously haven't heard the album, but I've visited his Soundcloud page, and I enjoyed what I heard. I bet that Thunderclap would be a lot of fun live. What impresses me most about this music is that it's completely DIY. He does it all himself, which is why Thunderclap needs you!

This week Tori and I reviewed Born Ruffians newest release Birth Birks. 


Tori's Review
First, let me say that I initially fell in love with Born Ruffians for their spontaneous and unpredictable, upbeat and incredibly catchy rock and roll. (Side note: I just learned this great new term, "herky-jerky" and it's actually in the dictionary and it describes their music perrrrfectly). I will always love their album, Red, Yellow & Blue more than any of their others.

That being said, I really, really like their new album, Birthmarks. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. I may even eventually love it. But, I do feel that a lot of the herky-jerky was lost in this album. There's a vague familiarity to the style they're adopting. There are brief moments in this album when I feel like I'm listening to some one else. Songs like "6-5000" and "Cold Pop" I find reminiscent of Vampire Weekend and songs "Permanent Hesitation" remind me a little of Passion Pit. There's also a little Tame Impala mixed in there at moments.

This album is much more well thought out than the Ruffian's previous albums. It's definitely more musically, lyrically and thematically mature. (But is mature always better?) As the album progresses, more and more sounds not found in their previous albums started to slide in. Once you hit "Golden Promises" you might have to double check to make sure you're still listening to Born Ruffians. My favorite track on this album might have to be "Dancing On the Edge of Our Graves." While it is really different than "I Need a Life" off their second studio record, Red, Yellow & Blue (my all time favorite song of theirs), the bridge in it is killer. Gets me every time.

Side note: I saw them live a couple weeks ago. Amazing. I may venture to put them on the top 5 best shows I've ever seen. Seriously.


Zach's Review
Before listening to this album, my only exposure to Born Ruffians was a song called "Barnacle Goose", which I still really like. For some reason I never listened to any of the other songs on the album. I'm not sure why, because if I were to judge them by that one song, you would think they would be one of my favorite bands. I listened to it all the time. I think I even put in on mixes for some of my friends.

Fast forward six years and Born Ruffians have put out two more albums since then. Their latest, released this year, is called Birthmarks. The more I listen to this album the more I find that I like it. On the first song, "Needle", B.R. channel their inner Animal Collective. The vocals sound just like Avey Tare. It's also the strongest track on the album. I've found myself going back to this song all week.

The rest of the album is, simply stated, a very good pop album. It reminds me a lot of The Spinto Band's album also released this year, Cool Cocoon. It's not mind blowing but it's a solid album that I would definitely recommend and continue to come back to.

When I first heard about Vampire Weekend I wanted nothing to do with them. In fact the whole idea of  Vampire Weekend made me sick. Preppy Ivy Leaguers with sweaters draped over their shoulders singing about Cambridge, and Cape Cod. This was one 1% percent music. Music I wanted no part of . . . that is until a girl I had a crush on burnt me a copy (sorry for writing about old crushes, Christina). Nothing ever happened with the girl, but I fell in love with album. Researching oxford commas and getting the hell out of Walcott were all I could think about.

They continued to impress me with their second release, Contra. Now with their third album, Modern Vampires of The City, I'm speechless. Ezra Koenig and the gang have really outdone themselves. Modern Vampires is far different. The lyrics are more personal. The music is more refined. I find myself relating to the lyrics in ways that I haven't related to an album in a long time. Koening is 29 (same age as me) and with lyrics like "Wisdom's a gift, but you'd trade it for youth", and "Nobody knows what the future holds and it's bad enough just getting old" the album feels like an anthem for late twenty somethings transitioning into full adulthood.

MV is  more introspective than previous albums. Koening digs deep when questioning not only his place in the world, but his feelings about religion. "Unbelievers" explains itself in the title of the song.  Not only is the title of"Ya Hey"a shout out to Outkast, it's the Hebrew pronunciation of Jehovah (Yahweh). On "Hannah Hunt" he sings about not believing in a person of faith's words about  "hidden eyes" that can see what we're thinking.

We're almost half way through the year and this album stands out above anything I've heard. I feel like it's important  for everyone to listen to. Vampire Weekend have made something that will last. Not that you can compare the two albums, but I haven't been moved this much by an album since Bon Iver's For Emma was released in 2008. Making a third album can be really difficult for most bands, especially with all the hype that has surrounded Vampire Weekend since their first release, but they pull it off seemingly effortlessly.

Total injustice that this hooligan got a wikipedia page before Wayne Bass.

Welcome to another Compare and Contrast post where every week Tori Dickson and myself (Zach Gibson) review the same album so you the reader can get two different opinions. This week we took on Iron and Wine's newest release Ghost on Ghost



Zach's Review
Ghost On Ghost, is an even further departure from from soft-spoken acoustic sound of Sam Beam's earliest works, in a good way. With each Iron and Wine album the sounds get bigger. His last album, Kiss Each Other Clean started the shift in music styles. He's gone from a solo, acoustic singer of sad songs to a smooth 70's crooner with a jazz band behind him. Sometimes bigger is badder (I know badder is not a word, but I like how it sounds in this sentence), but that's not the case with Iron and Wine. His sound is constantly evolving into something new and exciting.
"The Desert Babbler", the second song on Ghost is one of my favorite songs this year. I played it on repeat for most of last month. It represents the new Sam Beam. He does his best Seals and Crofts impression with this song. It's very reminiscent of "Summer Breeze", one of my favorite sappy 70's songs. But Beam takes it to a level that Seals and Crofts couldn't. With oohs and ahhs and reflective lyrics, he nails this song perfectly.
Other favorites on the album include "Winter Prayers" & "New Mexico's No Breeze".
Even though this album is very good there are moments that slide over to the boring side. "Grass Window" and "Singers and the Endless Song" are two songs that I tend to skip over now after listening to this album so much. They remind me too much of songs from Kiss Each Other Clean. It's okay to keep with the same sound, but copying "Rabbit Will Run" for two consecutive songs on an album gets a little repetitive.
I do really like this album. I like that Sam Beam isn't comfortable and keeps trying new things. Whether it's funky jazz, 70's pop, or soft acoustic, Beam knows how to make beautiful long lasting music.


Tori's Review
I've always appreciated Iron & Wine. Samuel Beam is really talented. His music is beautiful and full of feeling. I even saw him live once in 2007 and it was good. I would never call myself much of a fan, though. While I'll really enjoy a song or two here and there, I don't think I've actually ever listened to an entire Iron & Wine album in one sitting. Beam just tends to be a little too soft for my taste.
That being said, I enjoyed his new album, Ghost On Ghost much more than I expected. The album starts strong with "Caught in the Briars," a fairly fun, upbeat, rhythmic tune featuring some horns and background singers. You hear a few more upbeat songs like this through the album including "Grace For Saints and Ramblers." Beam keeps this really do-wop, jazzy feel through out the album, which I love. There's even some bluesy feeling in songs like "Grass Widows" and a faint hint of funk in "Singers and the Endless Song." But when the album reaches "Sundown" the album starts to slow down a little and you can hear his past sounds start to sneak in bit. Which I'm totally fine with because it's beautiful and musicians should stay somewhat true to their roots if that's what they love. Then, just before he closes the album, he really gets jazzy with "Lover's Revolution." Though I'm not sure on the lyrics in this one, Beam really seems to showcase his vocal diversity in this song. Go Beam. He then fades it out with a little more of his country roots with "Baby Center Stage" leaving us swaying with our eyes closed, warm and happy.
I sort of skimmed through his previous albums on Spotify in preparation for this review and it seems as though Beam has gradually been building this sound into his work. He really shows he wants more as a musician in this album. He's incorporating rhythm and composition. He's growing and learning and diversifying. I am in full support of that.
Iron & Wine really caught my attention with this album. While he Beam hasn't quite mastered all the sounds he attempts with this album, it's clear that he's trying to expand and try new things. There are moments in Ghost On Ghost where his desire for more gets cluttered and feels awkward but we work our way through it. For the most part, this album is really enjoyable and I'm really curious to see what's next on the Iron & Wine horizon.

Have you ever experienced a song or a book or a movie or a conversation or a painting that is so important to you in the second you needed it that you want to curl up in a ball and hold it in BUT you also want to share it with a million people?

I felt this way after I finished Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I still feel that way, a week later. I think it is the On the Road of my twenties, even though On the Road is STILL the On the Road of my twenties. I just needed it. So much.

The book is a true story about a woman who hikes the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to the Oregon-Washington border. She has no backpacking experience, and she does it all alone. Her one motivation is to get away from the life she fell into after her mother died from cancer in her early 40's.

I have a lot of role models. This planet is home to so many great people (so many more than I know..and all of them, probably, unless their is life on other planets), and I am honored to call a few of them my best friends. Some women have fantastic qualities I would like to possess. But the best kind of people are the ones who make you want to be a better person. Cheryl Strayed does this for me through her writing. She is my hero, and I do mean this in the traditional, superhero sense.

When I read her words, it's as if she sits inside my ripped open heart and keeps it from falling apart. She doesn't fix it. That she leaves to the reader. She just sits there and keeps it beating while I figure out a way to march onward and fix it, temporarily and permanently.

The image below is my journal entry after I finished the book. I planned to type it all out, but I didn't, so hooray for technology.

The first hour of my day at work is my plan period. I usually try to listen to one album all the way through while I'm planning my lessons or putting grades into the computer. This is what's playing this morning.

The line up for the Twilight Concert Series was just announced yesterday and it is amazing, in my humble opinion. The city of Salt Lake puts on a bunch of great shows every Summer in Pioneer Park. The shows used to be free, now they're $5. I have seen some great acts there over the last few years, including; Jenny Lewis, Bon Iver, Iron and Wine, Modest Mouse, The Walkmen and Beach House!

This year I am stoked to see Belle & Sebastian, The Flaming Lips and MGMT among others. See you in SLC! Below is a playlist of some favorite songs by a number of the scheduled acts for this Summer.

-Earl

It was the last day of the spring semester, 2008. Aaron Patrick McGregor Esquire exited his Sunrise Village apartment triumphantly, having just finished cleaning for the next morning's white glove inspection. His friend, Jeffrey Scott Poole was in tow.

The day after spring semester 2007 the dynamic duo had attended a Built to Spill show in Salt Lake City followed by a late-night gorge fest of Del Taco that produced the now famous quote, "Quantos tacos Senor? Diez?!" The friends had enjoyed this experience so much they decided a sequel was appropriate, having bought tickets to see Built to Spill in Boise the next day.

Following their noses, they partook of some Denny's late that night with some friends before heading back to Aaron's apartment to prepare for the following day's adventure. Having fully prepared by about 2:30 a.m. they decided the next appropriate step would only be getting a head start on their journey. They departed Rexburg immediately and drove westward into the beautiful desert night.

After almost two hours they were quite drowsy and decided a strange locale named Craters of the Moon would be the ideal spot to pull over the trusty Pontiac. They found an empty parking lot and pulled into a spot intended for a fifth wheel style trailer and truck. Aaron reclined the passenger seat as Jeff opened the compartment between trunk and back seat. He slept in the trunk with his head protruding  in the style of a turtle. They slept for a maximum of three hours before the sun disturbed their slumber.

Noticing cars parked around them and quite the crowd inside the nearby visitor center, they promptly grabbed their toiletries and entered the crowded lobby, wiping sleepers from their eyes all the while. They found the bathroom and freshened up for the day. Somewhere on the pass near Little Camas Reservoir seemed like a good place for a nap and they took their posts like the previous night. As Jeff snoozed in the shaded trunk Aaron found the sun to be rather antagonistic and being a Mountain Man (haha get it?) decided a stroll through the woods would suit him. Once Jeff awoke they headed down the other side of the pass and were soon entering Boise.

The two men decided to stick to tradition and soon found an Albertsons grocery store from which they acquired fried chicken for sustenance. Having eaten in the park they met up with some of Jeff's brother's friends at a downtown record store and eventually settled on Pavement's Crooked Rain Crooked Rain and The Promise Ring's Nothing Feels Good. Afterward it was time to head to the Gem State Music Jam to catch openers New Monsoon and Blue Turtle Seduction.

Although Boise is their hometown, Built to Spill drew a meager crowd and it was rather easy to get a spot in the first row so as to see all the crazy plywood boards with guitar pedals attached strewn across the stage. The show was excellent aside from the fact that a rather inebriated middle-aged couple thought it was hilarious to have the wife attempt to dance with Jeff during songs as the husband sarcastically threatened him for putting moves on his wife. Aaron more or less thought it was amusing.

The concert ended and the young men somehow made it home unscathed, enjoying their new CDs until the end of the mythical journey.

Remember when Kings of Leon used to be so good? Their first two albums, Youth and Young Manhood (2003) and Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) were great. I miss those days.









 ... I couldn't decide which video I liked best.

I couldn't be more excited for the new Vampire Weekend album, Modern Vampires of The City. Friday they released another song along with a really cool lyric video.

Also, lyric video's are the bomb. I'm glad they're a thing right now.

I know, I know, this is my second post in one day but I can't help it. Baz Luhrman's much anticipated movie comes out next week, The Great Gatsby. It's one of my favorite directors doing one of my favorite books. I am crazy excited for it but let's talk about the soundtrack for a second. It's amazing and not just because Jack White contributed to it. It has some other really talented people on it including Beyonce, Jay-Z, Lana Del Ray and Florence and The Machine. It has a lot of high energy tunes as well as some slower ones. It even has some great covers (Zach, I know you hated the Amy Winehouse cover but in all honesty, I really didn't mind it). Not to mention the old jazz mixed in with modern music, as is expected for a Luhrman movie. All in all, it's a really well done soundtrack. It has me even more pumped for the movie, if that's even possible.

The soundtrack is posted on NPR's First Listen here.

Janelle Monae just released a new single, Q.U.E.E.N. featuring Erykah Badu. It's really great. Janelle Monae is just really cool. So is Erykah Badu. Plus they can sing.

One good thing about living where we do is that the NPR programming is phenomenal. After 7:00 p.m. all they play is indie rock. My favorite show is on every Sunday. It's called Songs From The Plains and is hosted by musician Samantha Crain and her friend, Samantha Lamb.

I was driving home last Sunday night when they played a J. Tillman (now Father John Misty) song. It's a song called "Labourless Land" from my favorite of his albums, Vacilando Territory Blues and it's my song of the day.