Since this is the first post I'll detail a number of my favorite bands along with some of their albums and in the end I'll give my pick of the month (which will be a new release).
BEN FOLDS FIVE
When people ask me who my favorite artists are my default answer is Ben Folds Five. It might be one of the only times I remember where I was when I first heard their music. I was 13 years old and home schooled (read as sheltered), and for some random reason I stole my brother's copy of "Whatever and Ever Amen". I took it to my room and put it in my cd player and immediately fell in love with it. The first track on the album cracked me up as the chorus goes: "Now I'm big and important, one angry dwarf, and 200 solemn faces are you, if you really want to see me check the papers and the tv, look who's telling who what to do...kiss my ass." It was like a forbidden fruit as such language was unacceptable in our household. Since that point, I've garnered more and more of their albums and turned into a quasi-super fan (as much as I can be being that I'm always broke).
The music of Ben Folds Five is amazing, almost all of it (with some exceptions on Naked Baby Photos that I don't particularly care for). They are a piano rock trio with piano, bass, and drums. What makes them so good is not just their ability on the instruments which is excellent (not the best), but their harmonies. Not only where they one of the first bands to rock out on an acoustic piano in a time that was just regaining consciousness from the grunge era, but they did so with solid harmonies from all three members. (see here)
Their most iconic work is without a doubt, "Whatever and Ever Amen", but my personal favorite is their first and self-titled album, "Ben Folds Five" the musicianship displayed on that album wasn't touched again in any of their later albums. This is not to dismiss "The Unauthorized Biography of Rheinhold Messner". That may be their most complete album as a whole. In a Q&A they disclosed that they had originally written the album as one giant song which comes as little surprise when you listen to it all the way through.
RADIOHEAD
I shamefully did not hear about Radiohead until my Sophomore year of college which was '06/'07. I'm not sure what it was that finally got me to listen to them, maybe it was everyone around me telling me how good they are. Needless to say everyone around me was absolutely right. The first time you listen to Radiohead you probably don't mind the music and some other's "won't get it", but give it another chance, maybe two. I promise the more you take it in the more it gives.
So why is Radiohead so good? If you listen to their collection from beginning to end you'll see something extremely unique in today's musical world, variety, growth, and change. I know other bands "grow" but they don't really change. They may get better at the music they're playing, but change is hard to do, and even harder to do well and Radiohead has done it the best. Not only have they changed but, they've changed musical expectations so much that many people don't even compare them to anyone else anymore, as in they have their own category of awesomeness that no one can touch.
Alright, enough of that, I don't want to overstate, getting on to their music. So, where to start? Pablo Honey (1993) would seem like a nice place since it's their debut album, but to be completely honest, I don't know if I've ever listened to the whole album all the way through. (I'm doing it as we speak just for this post) It's a standard early/mid 90's alternative rock album...moving on. I think the two best places to start are either The Bends (1995) or In Rainbows (2007) These albums are the least volatile of the remaining seven. Starting with "The Bends" will allow for a natural progression as you hear the band grow and transform through their music.
The two heaviest hitters from Radiohead are OK Computer (1997) and Kid A (2000). I once had a discussion with a friend that said that OK Computer is widely regarded as the best album of the 90's, which isn't any stretch at all. We went on further to say that being it's the best album of the 90's it could be argued it's the best album of the century depending on who you talk to. (For the record I wouldn't argue it ahead of Thriller or a few other albums). As good as Ok Computer was, Kid A was undoubtedly a better album, so it could be argued that Kid A was the album of the 2000's. What we decided was that at the time was that Radiohead arguably had the best album in to millennia.
All that being said, you must listen to these two albums at some point in your life and decide for yourself.
CHARLES MINGUS
I love jazz music and you'll see a fair amount of jazz on this blog and my favorite jazz musician is Charles Mingus. Mingus like so many of the other greats was the trifecta of a player (Bass)/composer/band leader. The reason I like Mingus so much is because his music isn't about the technical and doesn't just satisfy the surface. He conveys his life story of struggles, questions, and difficulties through his music, maybe better than anyone else I've ever heard, jazz or not. Mingus himself was a fiery but loving personality and that comes through in his music. He had a very specific idea of how the music was supposed to sound and wanted it done right. There might be no better example of this then his album, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, where he says:
Good evening ladies and gentleman, we'd like to remind you that we don't applaud at the show place. So restrain your applause and if you must applaud wait until the end of the set because it won't even matter then. The reason is because we are interrupted by your noise. In fact, don't even take any drink or no cash registers ringing, etc...
How awesome is that! Anyway, I won't go on too long about Mingus since I've already rambled on long enough. The afforementioned album, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, is definitely worth a listen. However the best place to start with Mingus has to be Mingus Ah Um. This is Mingus's most prominent album and produced so many standards including two of my favorites: Fables of Faubus and Boogie Stop Shuffle. Other albums to check out are: Three or Four Shades of Blue, Mingus at Antibes, and Tijuana Moods.
The one album that is a must for Mingus is The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. This isn't the easiest album to engage in but it definitely is one of the best. It's one that will appear on many peoples all time greatest jazz albums. The ensemble is a group of eleven wind players with instruments ranging from tuba to flamenco guitar, a very unique instrumentation. What makes this album so good is that it has form, but doesn't. As each piece goes on you can hear just how choreographed the music is, but at the same time it sounds almost as if each person is improvising within the music but sounding like it's not improvised. In other words, it is what jazz should be, a conversation, a continuous interaction between each of the members of the ensemble. The reason the album is heralded as one of the greatest of all time is because it is the epitome of what jazz means for so many people. Now, not only does it do all that but it also conveys Mingus' spirit with the inner turmoil and confusion that comes from growing up as a person who doesn't fit in (he was half black/half asian lighter skinned and grew up in Watts) and lived in a broken home. So, go check it out, it's well worth your time.
PICK OF THE MONTH: ESPERANZA SPALDING, Radio Music Society
Esperanza Spalding is darling of the jazz scene. She went to Berklee in Boston in the early 2000's (with one of my friends) and has since taken the jazz world by storm. She won the Grammy for best new artist in 2011 over Justin Bieber, which gives me some hope in the Grammy's. She herself is bass player/vocalist. She's excellent at both and utilizes both throughout her music. I also have to say she's my first jazz crush, well maybe second after Anita O'Day(who shares my birthday).
The album is solid, very solid. Not life changing but very enjoyable. It's a lot to live up to after the other groups/albums mentioned in this post, but it's not supposed to. I actually first heard about the album on "The Colbert Report" where they played a few selections from the album on the show. In the pre-performance interview she says that pretty much anyone who wanted to was able to join the ensemble. While I imagine it wasn't a completely open invitation the album does sound like it would be fun for anyone to jump in and jam along with. The song I remember them playing is, Black Gold, which is beautiful song the implications of which you can probably assume. Like most of the album it establishes a nice groove that gets your head nodding from the start. The horn section provides solid backgrounds and hits/licks. There are actually some really awesome licks on this album that the ensemble have. The improvisation on the album is not always as prominent as I'd like, but that's because I'm an instrumentalist. What improvisations there is is well done and enjoyable, but nothing that will cause you to stop and think.
All in all it is a solid album that just about any one can pick up and enjoy the first listen through. Let me know what you think about it!
Until next time, take care and God bless.
BEN FOLDS FIVE
When people ask me who my favorite artists are my default answer is Ben Folds Five. It might be one of the only times I remember where I was when I first heard their music. I was 13 years old and home schooled (read as sheltered), and for some random reason I stole my brother's copy of "Whatever and Ever Amen". I took it to my room and put it in my cd player and immediately fell in love with it. The first track on the album cracked me up as the chorus goes: "Now I'm big and important, one angry dwarf, and 200 solemn faces are you, if you really want to see me check the papers and the tv, look who's telling who what to do...kiss my ass." It was like a forbidden fruit as such language was unacceptable in our household. Since that point, I've garnered more and more of their albums and turned into a quasi-super fan (as much as I can be being that I'm always broke).
The music of Ben Folds Five is amazing, almost all of it (with some exceptions on Naked Baby Photos that I don't particularly care for). They are a piano rock trio with piano, bass, and drums. What makes them so good is not just their ability on the instruments which is excellent (not the best), but their harmonies. Not only where they one of the first bands to rock out on an acoustic piano in a time that was just regaining consciousness from the grunge era, but they did so with solid harmonies from all three members. (see here)
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Their most iconic work is without a doubt, "Whatever and Ever Amen", but my personal favorite is their first and self-titled album, "Ben Folds Five" the musicianship displayed on that album wasn't touched again in any of their later albums. This is not to dismiss "The Unauthorized Biography of Rheinhold Messner". That may be their most complete album as a whole. In a Q&A they disclosed that they had originally written the album as one giant song which comes as little surprise when you listen to it all the way through.
RADIOHEAD
I shamefully did not hear about Radiohead until my Sophomore year of college which was '06/'07. I'm not sure what it was that finally got me to listen to them, maybe it was everyone around me telling me how good they are. Needless to say everyone around me was absolutely right. The first time you listen to Radiohead you probably don't mind the music and some other's "won't get it", but give it another chance, maybe two. I promise the more you take it in the more it gives.
So why is Radiohead so good? If you listen to their collection from beginning to end you'll see something extremely unique in today's musical world, variety, growth, and change. I know other bands "grow" but they don't really change. They may get better at the music they're playing, but change is hard to do, and even harder to do well and Radiohead has done it the best. Not only have they changed but, they've changed musical expectations so much that many people don't even compare them to anyone else anymore, as in they have their own category of awesomeness that no one can touch.
Alright, enough of that, I don't want to overstate, getting on to their music. So, where to start? Pablo Honey (1993) would seem like a nice place since it's their debut album, but to be completely honest, I don't know if I've ever listened to the whole album all the way through. (I'm doing it as we speak just for this post) It's a standard early/mid 90's alternative rock album...moving on. I think the two best places to start are either The Bends (1995) or In Rainbows (2007) These albums are the least volatile of the remaining seven. Starting with "The Bends" will allow for a natural progression as you hear the band grow and transform through their music.
The two heaviest hitters from Radiohead are OK Computer (1997) and Kid A (2000). I once had a discussion with a friend that said that OK Computer is widely regarded as the best album of the 90's, which isn't any stretch at all. We went on further to say that being it's the best album of the 90's it could be argued it's the best album of the century depending on who you talk to. (For the record I wouldn't argue it ahead of Thriller or a few other albums). As good as Ok Computer was, Kid A was undoubtedly a better album, so it could be argued that Kid A was the album of the 2000's. What we decided was that at the time was that Radiohead arguably had the best album in to millennia.
All that being said, you must listen to these two albums at some point in your life and decide for yourself.
CHARLES MINGUS
I love jazz music and you'll see a fair amount of jazz on this blog and my favorite jazz musician is Charles Mingus. Mingus like so many of the other greats was the trifecta of a player (Bass)/composer/band leader. The reason I like Mingus so much is because his music isn't about the technical and doesn't just satisfy the surface. He conveys his life story of struggles, questions, and difficulties through his music, maybe better than anyone else I've ever heard, jazz or not. Mingus himself was a fiery but loving personality and that comes through in his music. He had a very specific idea of how the music was supposed to sound and wanted it done right. There might be no better example of this then his album, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, where he says:
Good evening ladies and gentleman, we'd like to remind you that we don't applaud at the show place. So restrain your applause and if you must applaud wait until the end of the set because it won't even matter then. The reason is because we are interrupted by your noise. In fact, don't even take any drink or no cash registers ringing, etc...
How awesome is that! Anyway, I won't go on too long about Mingus since I've already rambled on long enough. The afforementioned album, Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, is definitely worth a listen. However the best place to start with Mingus has to be Mingus Ah Um. This is Mingus's most prominent album and produced so many standards including two of my favorites: Fables of Faubus and Boogie Stop Shuffle. Other albums to check out are: Three or Four Shades of Blue, Mingus at Antibes, and Tijuana Moods.
The one album that is a must for Mingus is The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. This isn't the easiest album to engage in but it definitely is one of the best. It's one that will appear on many peoples all time greatest jazz albums. The ensemble is a group of eleven wind players with instruments ranging from tuba to flamenco guitar, a very unique instrumentation. What makes this album so good is that it has form, but doesn't. As each piece goes on you can hear just how choreographed the music is, but at the same time it sounds almost as if each person is improvising within the music but sounding like it's not improvised. In other words, it is what jazz should be, a conversation, a continuous interaction between each of the members of the ensemble. The reason the album is heralded as one of the greatest of all time is because it is the epitome of what jazz means for so many people. Now, not only does it do all that but it also conveys Mingus' spirit with the inner turmoil and confusion that comes from growing up as a person who doesn't fit in (he was half black/half asian lighter skinned and grew up in Watts) and lived in a broken home. So, go check it out, it's well worth your time.
PICK OF THE MONTH: ESPERANZA SPALDING, Radio Music Society
Esperanza Spalding is darling of the jazz scene. She went to Berklee in Boston in the early 2000's (with one of my friends) and has since taken the jazz world by storm. She won the Grammy for best new artist in 2011 over Justin Bieber, which gives me some hope in the Grammy's. She herself is bass player/vocalist. She's excellent at both and utilizes both throughout her music. I also have to say she's my first jazz crush, well maybe second after Anita O'Day(who shares my birthday).The album is solid, very solid. Not life changing but very enjoyable. It's a lot to live up to after the other groups/albums mentioned in this post, but it's not supposed to. I actually first heard about the album on "The Colbert Report" where they played a few selections from the album on the show. In the pre-performance interview she says that pretty much anyone who wanted to was able to join the ensemble. While I imagine it wasn't a completely open invitation the album does sound like it would be fun for anyone to jump in and jam along with. The song I remember them playing is, Black Gold, which is beautiful song the implications of which you can probably assume. Like most of the album it establishes a nice groove that gets your head nodding from the start. The horn section provides solid backgrounds and hits/licks. There are actually some really awesome licks on this album that the ensemble have. The improvisation on the album is not always as prominent as I'd like, but that's because I'm an instrumentalist. What improvisations there is is well done and enjoyable, but nothing that will cause you to stop and think.
All in all it is a solid album that just about any one can pick up and enjoy the first listen through. Let me know what you think about it!
Until next time, take care and God bless.
Justin, Tsuby and I went to hear her in Yurakucho at the Kokusai Forum last week. Followed by Casiopea 3rd (japanese group) and then the Bob James Quintet. Esperanza Spalding played Radio Song as her last "singalong" song. Fun for all....
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