I'm So Cool

So, for the past several months I have been trying to shift my buying and listening habits more toward the enthusiasm I had when I was younger. When I would buy stuff because it would get stuck in my head or I'd get fascinated with it and just HAD to have it. This has meant that I'm questioning my loyalty to artists more. So artists that normally would get my money automatically just for putting stuff out, aren't anymore (sorry Gomez, Peter Murphy, Moby and Chad Van Gaalen). Certainly, I'm still loyal and will pick stuff up from favourite artists, but only after really investigating and listening (good job Junior Boys, Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes and Arctic Monkeys). The upside to the savings is I get to experiment more (hello Clearlake, James Blake, Do Make Say Think, and Minor Threat) and buy a whole pile of reissues with my Birthday money. One of the ways I've been experimenting is by exosing myself to new music through free listening thanks to a number of podcasts such as NPR's excellent All Songs Considered, Greg Kott & Jim DeRogatis's Sound Opinions which will help me explore tUnEYaRdS, and the Hype Machine Radio Podcast which is probably the most cutting edge thing I listen to. But this month's podcast saw a breakthrough. Instead of just knowing about some of the artists played, I actually identified two artists before they were announced: Bjork, who is admittedly easy to identify, and Washed Out who just released his debut yet is old news to the hipsters on the Hype Machine.

Broken Social Scene

 

I'm missing seeing Broken Social Scene tonight but I feel the need to justify this decision. Some of this justification actually feels just and some of it is me convincing myself because I don't want to admit that I'M MISSING SEEING BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE TONIGHT! So, the real reasons: my wife is pregnant and due any day now so I want to be home with her, not just because something might happen tonight but because I want to sit on the couch and watch So You Think You Can Dance with her because that's one of my favourite things to do. The other real reason is that I've seen them twice before and I am broke (I spent my Birthday money almost completely eliminating my "List"). The not real reasons are that they are playing at the Wildhorse Saloon and if you don't think that that website would be enough to turn me off, then you don't know me that well. If you can't tell from the website, the Wildhorse is essentially a tent in a parking lot. The sound will be awful, there will be drunk (very drunk) people everywhere at that show and even though BSS will put on a great, fun, memorable show, it will not be as good as either of the other times I saw them.

The time of my life

Awhile back I was reading Dean Wareham's Black Postcards and feeling a little jealous over his stories of living in New York in the late 70s. He saw Television, Talking Heads and the Ramones at CBGBs! I've felt a similar jealousy (mixed with relief) over my brother's story of seeing Black Flag in Vancouver in '84 because I'm reading Our Band Could Be Your Life right now. But if I really think about it, I think about how lucky I am to be exactly my age. Some benefits of this are things like:

• My first concert (at age 16) was the Who!
• I saw Pink Floyd the last time they actually toured as Pink Floyd (no Roger but still)
• I saw Midnight Oil - twice! and they are no longer a working band
• I saw the Cure when I was 19 - could there be a better age to see the Cure?
• I managed to see The The on their last tour
• Sonic Youth opening for REM playing the Diamond Sea
• Death From Above 1979 - which is the loudest thing I have ever experienced - before they broke up, in a little night club
• Arcade Fire - twice!
• Broken Social scene - twice!
• The Boredoms a week before the 77 Boredrum thing

And these are just the concerts. Disintegration came out the year I turned 16, which if you think about it, is perfect timing for a sad bastard like me. I'm young enough that Nevermind came out the fall I went off to University, and Weezer's first album and Sloan's second came out when I was living in res and working in a record store. I don't consider Radiohead as kids or old dudes - they are my peers (in the way other people of your generation are your peers). Plus, the timing of the Beatles remasters and my rediscovery (again) of them means my two sons are huge Beatles fans.

Clearlake

So, awhile back I mentioned that I am in experimenting mode. I mentioned this to my friend who said I should check out Clearlake. Well, I was at Recordland earlier this week trading in some of those donated CDs I mentioned as well. Looking for something to fill my quota, there was Clearlake's Cedars . Since all I had to go on was the name, I checked out other details - released 2003, on Domino Records - seemed like this could be the thing. It turns out that it is quite good. Sounds a bit like Elbow if they were fronted by Daman Albarn circa Modern Life is Rubbish. Pitchfork even gave it a 9.1 - nice.