When all else fails...

It's spring break and I'm realizing how wore out I am. It's been a really interesting and fun winter, but I'm oh so ready for warm weather. I'm sick of politics, Illinois isn't in the NCAA tournament, and I really just want to get outside. This time of year I typically start really listening to music again and working on some of my own stuff. You'd think that winter would be the perfect time to write and listen to music, but there's nothing like taking an acoustic out on the front porch or going on a run with my shuffle (loaded with all the new music I've compiled over the winter but haven't really digested). Bob Dylan is my absolute favorite but after awhile you can tire of anything so I haven't listened to much Bob in like a year, but he's starting to come back into the rotation. I've always loved his gospel stuff and this song is one of my absolute favorites.

To the Hardwood...

This is my favorite time of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are on the way, fall is here, and most importantly, College Basketball has begun. This will be first year as a member of the Orange Krush, the University of Illinois student section. So far the experience has been great and I'll be able to attend as many games in one season as I've seen my whole life.

So far, aside from a few upsets (Kentucky, I'm looking at you!) most of the games have been blowouts, but the competition should be amped up soon, and I can't wait. I don't know how I'll get any studying done this season, but I'll worry about that later.

Chrome Dreams II...

After a brief stint of insanity (Living With War) Neil Young has just released one of the best albums in quite awhile. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Prairie Wind. It's a beautiful album and has a few really nice songs on it. The slower ballads really get the job done, but the faster songs fall short. The overall sound of the album just seems worn out to me, which is certainly understandable given Neil's condition at the time.

Living With War was a whole other animal entirely. Although the vitality of it was invigorating and the quick internet release was exciting the songs sounded very much like they were written and recorded in a week. As bad as the songs were, the production was even worse. I don't blame Neil for the record. He wrote a record about something he was passionate about and put it out there. It just wasn't very good.

When I heard about Chrome Dreams II coming out I was excited but skeptical. Soon after hearing about the record, I discovered Neil was coming to the Fox Theater in St. Louis. That is a great venue, so I bought tickets and found out I would receive a free copy of Neil's new record with the purchase. I got the record a few days after the release date and put the disc in on the way to campus. I was stunned by the quality immeadiately. Aside from the "Dirty Old Man", the record blew me away. "Beautiful Bluebird" starts the record off with Neil continuing to master the slow ballad. The rest of the album experiments with Crazy Horseesque tracks such as "Spirit Road" as well as the awesome scrapped 80's song, "Ordinary People". The album is really good. I can't wait to see Neil this Sunday night.

Miles Davis ca. 1971

Making good on my promise to focus on some new topics in my blog, I've decided to share some of my favorite music. In an attempt to stay away from the obvious choice of Dylan or Neil Young or something I present you with a splendid video of Miles Davis performing Honky Tonk.

This is my favorite of Miles electric Cellar Door sessions which was the source for his Live Evil album. These recordings are so far ahead of their time, and very repetitive, yet captivating. You can hear a lot of similarities with Hip-Hop here, but Miles superior playing, and the presence of a real live band set this apart from anything that would come after it. I highly recommend the complete Cellar Door Sessions. It's an expensive set, but fully worth the money. Your best bet at getting it for a reasonable price is probably through www.yourmusic.com. This is an awesome club time music service that makes music affordable and fun.

Wedding and Stuff

The lack of blogs recently can't be blamed on my own personal apathy, but instead on some life changes I've gone through this summer. First of all, I got married on June 9th, and I also bought my first house. Obviously these things take time, so my blogs, music, and normal routine has suffered, but not without reward. This summer has been wonderful, but in an attempt to get my feet back on the ground, I'd like to resume normal functions, so you can expect a little more activity from me. I'd like to add a little more of a musical element to this blog as well as deviate from the current format, by adding some different kinds of content.