by rustedrobot | Jul 25, 2008 | Babies, Music
Okay, a couple of things on this early Friday morning:
- Parents, question for you: every night before we go to bed, Steph and I walk into the boys room and just sit there on the floor and stare at our babies as their little chests heave up and down in a dead sleep. We typically sit there for about five minutes. You do this, too? We’ve been doing it for a year and there appears to be no end in sight. Leave comment?
- I’ve probably mentioned this before, but Nada Surf continues to kick ass. Every time they put out an album, I think “ok, it’s going to be hard to top this.” And then they do it. Every time. Nothing better than a band at its creative peak. When the creative peak lasts 3-4 albums, then you’re getting into Jeff’s favorite-band-of-the-decade territory. Try this one, called “I Like What You Say:”   [audio:like.mp3]
- I know I mentioned The Black Keys new album a few weeks back, but one of their older songs just popped up on my ITunes and I’m feeling like you need to hear it. Why? Because it’s awesome, that’s why. This one is called “Keep Your Hands Off Her.” I bet these guys smoke live.   [audio:keep.mp3]
by rustedrobot | May 30, 2008 | Music
It’s been a while since I posted any MP3’s. Nothing new has really been grabbing my attention lately, so I’ll just post some stuff I’ve had for a while that deserves to be heard. What, you didn’t know? Everything I listen to deserves to be heard! Come on, give it a chance! Leave feedback if you want.
I don’t think I’ve posted about Cat Power. Her last two albums have been extremely listenable, due to the fact that she’s in a phase of channeling that marvelous female ’60s soul sound. Bless her heart. This one is called “Aretha, Sing One For Me” and it takes, oh, about 20 seconds to love it.
[audio:aretha.mp3]
I know I’ve posted in the past about Kelley Stoltz, but to me his new album is about the best thing going right now. What a sense for crafting a song! This one for me is a showstopper. It’s called “Put My Troubles to Sleep” and about 2:10 into it there’s this fuzz-guitar that comes in and it just gets me every time. It’s not loud or aggressive, it’s just….I don’t know. Classy?
[audio:trouble.mp3]
The Black Keys also continue to impress me. Their latest album, “Attack & Release” is my favorite work of theirs thus far. It’s the albums where they expand their repitoire and explore sound when I really dig them. They did it with the “Chulahoma” EP and they really hit a home run with this new album. Here’s “All You Ever Wanted.”
[audio:wanted.mp3]
I will NEVER stop loving music.
by rustedrobot | Apr 9, 2008 | Music, Random
Guys, you all know it happens sometimes. When standing up to pee, once in a while you carelessly…….miss. Maybe you’re not looking or things aren’t as, um, straight as they should be. But you miss. This happened to me in a most dramatic fashion over the weekend – I missed so badly I actually got some on my pants. Seems odd, yes, but I’m here to tell the truth. It wasn’t a lot or anything, I just knew right away because I didn’t hear the splashing. My god, what has this blog come to??? I’m just documenting my life, peoples. Sometimes it ain’t explainable.
Anyway, most of us will do the right thing and clean up the whiffed pee and then go about our day. Many will just leave it as is, especially at a public toilet. Tell you what, I NEVER touch ANYTHING when I’m in a public toilet. FORGET IT! I flush with my foot. I open all doors and turn on all faucets with my sleeve over my hand. I’m not crazily germophobic – that’s just common sense, people. Really.
OK, some music stuff. Steph and I are anxiously waiting with baited breath for the Nada Surf show tomorrow night here in Boston. We missed the last tour and I forget why, but neither of us have seen the band live yet and we are DYING to see them! That night is finally here tomorrow. Yee-haw.
Last week I hit on the new album by The Black Keys, called “Attack & Release.” This band is really growing a beautiful catalog of albums. Some would call them bluesy, others call them straight-up indie rock. It doesn’t matter what you call them – they make good music and they’ve carved out a sound all their own. You pretty much know it when you hear them. Here’s a track called “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be” from the new album. Enjoy!
[audio:things.mp3]
by rustedrobot | Apr 1, 2008 | Random
The combination of the writers strike and the arrival of twins has caused me to be watching far less television. I wasn’t a TV junkie by any stretch, but I did have shows I watched. What I’ve found with the strike is that I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. One thing I do miss is movies. No time for those anymore. An hour-and-a-half to watch a movie feels impossible to accomplish right about now.
I’ve never been so glad that we’re on the cusp of spring. A new house has benefitted us greatly because we have a shorter driveway and a two-car garage, but for some reason this winter I felt way more stir-crazy than I ever have. I think it’s partially because I am dying to get the kids outside and introduce them to outside. I mean, REALLY introduce them to stuff, not just carrying them from car-to-house. Can’t wait! Also can’t wait to be using our new enclosed porch!
Feeling less attached to MLB this year and more attached to the NHL again. Odd. Is it the steroids thing, the fact that the Bruins are, at least, competitive, or is it both? I’m sad I can’t really watch west coast baseball games anymore.
My Dell computer at home is on the fritz after two years. TWO years! WTF? I run ad-aware quite often and always have Norton running, yet still something is gumming up the computer and causing glitches. It may not be ad-ware, it might be the guts of the machine itself, but it’s annoying to have to even think about another computer. It is, however, exciting to think about what’s next – maybe Apple. Maybe not. I dunno.
I’m hearing the Extreme Makeover Maynard, MA episode runs May 11
The new REM is out and I bought it. Haven’t listened yet, but their new single is the best song they’ve done since the mid-1980s. The Black Keys new album also came out today. They are becoming one of my favorite bands of this decade. It’s unfortunate that they constantly get classified as “bluesy” because it’s an unfair categorization. There’s some of that in their foundation, sure, but blues? Not even close, really. What I’ve heard of their new record is fantastic.
I don’t like this site design. It’s going away soon.
