Nicely done! And in just a few hours.
Due to (and sometimes in spite of) the quality of songs we've all enjoyed since our music-formative years, hopefully you've all experienced those moments when environment, mindset, weather, behavior etc. conspired with music to claim permanent spots in your long-term memory.
In an instant, a sing-along chorus, the timbre of a unique vocal, the crisp cracks of a drum fill, or the perfect lyric seemed to speak directly to you. Forever since, hearing that song again jets you directly to a vivid memory of that specific , however insignicant that day, season, or year in your life.
I file these songs under my "Time And Place" category. They may derive from classic, timeless albums we still enjoy, or one-hit wonders we've barely given a thought for years. Yet another little wonder that we can lean on when we're inspired or otherwise in a crappy place.
Below are just a few of mine (in no particular order).
Let's hear about yours - Sign up/in and go for it now. And if you haven't given your thoughts to previous topics "Moments" & "You Speak", your contributions are appreciated!
Moment #1 - Leona Naess' "Calling"
Winter of 2004, driving towards our ski lease at Dollar Point via Tahoe City. The recent dusting in the area and freezing cold temperatures gave promise of great skiing ahead, and after a long drive we were just minutes away from the hot tub outside the cabin. As this standout from her third album played through the car's CD deck, the warmth and pace of her voice played perfectly with light snowflakes making their way onto the hood and windshield. As the final round of choruses finished up, we pulled into the parking space at the exact same time.
Moment #2 - Richard Ashcroft's "Money To Burn"
Summer of 2003, on the endless shore of Destiladeras beach in Jalisco, Mexico. On a recommendation from our hotel's counter, we took the local's bus 50 minutes from Puerto Vallarta and were treated to the best sun and sand anywhere within the region. After enjoying the surprisngly refreshing chili-covered mango-on-a-stick (peeled by a man with nothing but a machete) as cool foil to a blistering day, I selected the board arragenments of Ashcroft's first solo album as accompaniment to the tanning and wave-watching. Good choice - the big orchestral sound he favors helped make me feel as lucky as I did to be there.
Moment #3 - Black Crowes' "No Speak No Slave"/"My Morning Song"
Fall of 2006, downtown L.A. My college friend Jake & I were driving into the ghetto at Alvarado St. get good fake IDs so we could score our own booze for the dorm rooms at Berkeley. I'd always thought of Jake's music tastes to this point as rather "old-man"-like, but when he popped in the classic "Southern Harmony & Music Companion" from his modest car collection, the one-two punch of this hard, soulful climatic one-two punch proved that at least we had something in common music-wise. To this day, this sequence near the end of the album will get my air drums going on the dashboard just as much as it did back then.
Summer of 2001, and I was scrounging to pay my rent, but still somehow found a way to go to cheap Oakland A's games. So on a gorgeous Independence Day in SF, I packed up the car for a big pre-game tailgate, and pulled out onto Cesar Chavez St. towards the Bay Bridge and flipped on the radio. The first song heard: the great power chords and straightforward lyric of:
"Well maybe I'll call or write you a letter / Maybe we'll see on the 4th of July"
was apropos in the most obvious sense
Moment #5 - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists' "Timorous Me"
Fall of 2005, Presidio in SF. Running my first 12K, at the time the first significant hill after the long headwind-enforced flats of the Presidio looks rather arduous at the time (especially after I'd obviously jumped out to way too fast of a start and the fatigue was setting on quickly). No better timing to get my very first taste of "runner's high", as this benchmark from Leo's "Tyraanny of Distance" pumped through my headphones with its skittering riff and uplifting sound. Suddenly feeling like I was flying up the hill weightlessly, the next hour brought no pain whatsoever.
Talking about the election bring Al Gore near to tears of joy.
The BIG party
Barak
Sent from my iPhone
Making get out the vote calls at the Obama outdoor phone bank in Palo Alto
When Mocha was two years old she blew out her knee and needed surgery.
She blew out the other knee a few weeks ago and got surgery today. We pick her up tomorrow, the vet says she is doing fine. She blew out her CCL and her meniscus
No doubt another cute photo is on its way during her 6 week recovery
SonicLiving
Someone recently introduced me to a site that’ll scan your iTunes artist list, and automatically email you when someone from your list is playing a show in your area:
http://sonicliving.com/wishlist
You can also eschew (as I did) the full iTunes-library scan, and manually enter artists you’d like to see live in the future using the “Quick Add Artists” box.
I set my account up so rather than being emailed, the new concert notifications filter into my MS Outlook RSS feeds box. I’m told that the site is rather thorough, and will notify you well in advanced of show dates so that you can score hard-to-get tickets.
No need to scan the local venue calendars again! You can also go to your “wishlist” site to see all upcoming matches at once:
iMeem
Disgusted with the GeoCities-like user interface and navigation of MySpace, I wondered whether some other site would give me the ability to quickly preview the songs of a potentially-worthy new artist without clicking from page to page. iMeem seems to fit the bill:
Sign up for an account, and then you can run searches for artists, song titles, or albums. On the search result pages, click “Add to QuickMix” to quickly build a playlist from more than one artist & album:
Your playlist will launch in a separate window, and you can stream, reorder, and delete songs as they playback. When you’re satisfied with the song list, you can use the “Save as Playlist” button to save the list for future access:
Lastly, you can search and play other people’s playlists, like the one I started making for ACL artists:
Hey folks,
If you're in the Bay Area and want to check out a show with us, I'd recommending the below. Drop me a line!
Some will definitely sell out, so if you’re interested, procrastinate at your own risk.
Goh Nakamura – Wed 8/20 @ Café Du Nord ($10)
http://www.myspace.com/gohnakamura
http://www.cafedunord.com/brilliant/cal/p.info.php?E_id=1213736772&PU_id=2
Cool blend of acoustic rock with on-stage recording and loop effects. Definitely a cheeky lyricist (e.g. “Natalie Portman”, a diddy about his celebrity crushes) and general crowd pleaser.
Nada Surf w/ Zach Rogue – Tue 9/2 @ Great American Music Hall ($21)
http://www.myspace.com/nadasurf
http://www.gamhtickets.com/evinfo.php?eventid=25407
Thrashing power-pop – check. Great songwriting – yep. Well-crafted harmonies – mmm hmm. Pretty much a largely underrated band. Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave opens w/ a solo set. Nice bill.
Jakob Dylan – Wed 9/3 @ The Fillmore ($25)
http://www.myspace.com/jakobdylan
(on sale 8/3: http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/334467)
Deep-voiced ex-Wallflower does the solo thing. Check out “Evil Is Alive” from his first solo album “Seeing Things”, out this year.
Ida – Fri 9/5 @ Bottom Of The Hill ($12)
http://www.myspace.com/idamusic
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&pl=both&eventId=281421
Lo-fi soundscapes and great harmonies with a blues background. Check out “Laurel Blues” or anything off 2005’s “Heart Like A River”.
Treasure Island Music Fest – Sat 9/20-Sun 9/21 @ Treasure Island ($65/$115)
http://www.treasureislandfestival.com/
2nd annual installment from the guys that brought you Noise Pop. If this year’s is even close to last years, it’ll be memorable. Saturday’s lineup features TV On The Radio, Hot Chip, Aesop Rock, and Sunday’s has The Raconteurs, Spiritualized, and The Kills.
Ron Sexsmith – Thu 10/9 @ Great American Music Hall ($16)
http://www.myspace.com/ronsexsmith
(on sale 8/3: http://www.musichallsf.com/artist_pages/ron_sexsmith_100908.htm)
A 6-album deep collection full of perfect 3-minute folk and pop gems means plenty of A material for a great set.
Jolie Holland – Wed 10/15 @ Bimbo’s ($19.50)
http://www.myspace.com/jolieholland
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=289777&pl=bimbos
A gorgeously world-weary voice with folk and alt-country leanings. Except without the pretense. Really stoked for this one. Check out my favorite sample:
http://jason260.vox.com/library/audio/6a00e3989c287e000300e398eaee520004.html
Must read the customer comments on this.
