Albums

These past few days (over Thanksgiving) have kept me busy... in a good way, so I haven't minded much. But I have definitely enjoyed taking it easy this afternoon, despite the fact that I should be working on my final assignments (not to mention studying for finals).

I know, I haven't been posting much lately, but in all honesty I'm starting to hate computers. Well, not really hate computers, I'm just tired of them. Most of my work at school requires electronic research and e-journal readings, which means I spend A LOT of time on the computer. And in all honesty, lately I just haven't wanted to spend any more time than was absolutely necessary on the computer. Between email and search engines, I can't take anymore. So that's my excuse for not posting.

But there are a few things I've wanted to mention, so I'm gonna go over some of them now.

For a while, there just wasn't much music that I was really interested in listening to. But fortunately that has changed. Here are some of the albums I've been enjoying lately:

• John Mayer Continuum- This is a great album. It's very subtle (I like to think of it as minimal), which I really enjoy and it's more bluesy than most of his radio hits (I'm not crazy about his radio hits). There's nothing more than what absolutely needs to be included. My favorite track is Gravity, which I've listened to so many times now that it's starting to lose some of it's initial impact so I think I need to take a little break from it. But all of the songs are pretty good, it's one of those discs you can listen to from beginning to end with no problem.

• Dirty Pretty Things Waterloo to Nowhere- The band is similar to Franz Ferdinand but for some reason I like Dirty Pretty Things better. The song "Bang Bang You're Dead" really stands out, probably because the chorus uses a 2 against 3 rhythm thing which I really like for no particular reason, and I tend to point it out whenever I hear it (try clapping the beat with your right hand, and clapping the lyrics with your left hand during the chorus).

• The Raconteurs Boy Soldier- This is Jack White's new band (Jack White of the White Stripes). And to be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn't have been all that interested in the CD if I had heard it on it's own. But a couple weeks ago Matt and I went to a Bob Dylan concert and the Raconteurs opened for him. And they were great. I only knew one of their songs, so I really wasn't looking forward to it. But they were really entertaining and even though they played for at least an hour, I never got bored or wished a song would end. Jack White is a performer. I can see how his voice may be a little harsh to listen to for long periods of time (fortunately the other guitarist does about half the singing which gives your ears a chance to breathe), but he seems like one of those people that would perform the same way whether there was an audience or not, and whether people were into it or not. My favorite song they did live was a cover of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang, but unfortunately that's not on the CD. So instead I recommend: Blue Veins, Hands, Intimate Secretary, Level, and Steady As She Goes (I especially recommend the acoustic version available on iTunes- they change it up by swinging the chorus, which again appeals to me for some unknown reason, and it's something I mention every time I hear it "this version is different than the version on the CD because they swing the chorus"). I also HIGHLY recommend seeing them live if you get the chance.

• The Ramones Loud Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits- Great overall album, very high energy from start to finish. I like Blitzkrieg Bop, Beat on the Brat, Sheena is A Punk Rocker, Psycho Therapy, among others...
  

• Classical Music- For some reason I get back into classical music when the weather gets cold.

To keep things from getting too long, I'm gonna break down things into additional posts.