The Grammys

Slowly but surely, the Grammys are winning me back.
A few years ago, they were unwatchable. Probably, I think, because I can't stand their rules for what songs and albums can win album for the year...
Example: Let's take U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind.
Great album, yes. According to Wikipedia, it was released in October, 2000.
You might remember "Beautiful Day"..

Oh wait, that's not it....Anyways, you know it right? So...
It won:

• Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2001.
• Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2001.
• Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal

Yah great! But oh wait, that was just for the one single off the album, apparently...
soooo Next year came along and...

• "All That You Can't Leave Behind" won Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2002.
• "Walk On" won Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2002.
• "Elevation" won Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2002.
• "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" won Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 2002.

Now, while you may argue that everything was only nominated once, it's not like a single got recognized twice...but I still think it's ridiculous.

Anyways, I thought the show this year was pretty good. I like that Plant and Krauss won album of the year. And no, it's not because I don't like rap. It's because the Academy is not the People's Choice awards, and for the second straight year they proved it.

Some other thoughts:

• Jennifer Hudson, good stuff.

• MIA looked weird and Kanye is, well, Kanye.
  

• The Jonas Brothers offend me. Can't believe Stevie wasn't in the center of that stage. Dave Grohl got it right when he played drums for Paul. Dave could have picked up a guitar and stood next to Paul and sing his songs. But, no, Grohl was honored to play drums for him. Just like the Jonas brothers should have been honored to play with someone like Stevie Wonder. They didn't need to prance and jump around. Just sayin'

Take a Listen, Take Some Time, Post your Thoughts...

Not an album title

Hey all,

So check it out. Since my jazz program has started, I have had no time to listen and review the RS top 500. So, sorry for that. But, I thought, stuff has been happening in my life, so I'm going to break from my promise to only post albums and their reviews.
Well, a lot has happened since I last posted in December...well, no not really. We had a break from school, I didn't do that much. School started up again, jazz band rehearsals every day. Weekends spent doing this and that.

Anyways, the reason I picked up the proverbial pen was to talk about this audition I had last night. It's for a cover band, if you know me you know what I'm talking about. It was quite interesting, and kind of brought to a head the two parts of my musical life.
It's tough to explain, but let me try by saying that I went through 8 years of concert bands and classical music. 8 years of being told that the drums were too loud, and that I needed to fit my sound into the sound of the band. 8 years of being told not to overplay and to be a compliment to the group.
Well, last night I was told basically the opposite. It was like, umm yeah if you're not playing as loud as humanly possible how will we get the beat. It makes sense when you think about it, but it blew my mind. Can anybody out there relate to this?

But don't fret, I'm getting another shot. Look for a post later on as this situation develops.

Take a moment, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Bringing It All Back Home

Rolling Stone Rank: 31

Another Dylan album in the top 50.  I understand why it wasn't higher, but yet I can see why Stone rated it as high as it did.  I found nothing wrong with the music, but it didn't really hit me as greatness.  I invite criticism, because I really have nothing good or bad to say about it.  Solid blues from the man, and yet there were times when the classic "Dylan whine" just gets on your nerves.  

Overall though, its Dylan at his core.  If you like him, it's another album to put on the shelf.  If you dislike him, you find another reason to stay away.  Don't like this one form your opinion, but it's worth a listen.

Stats

Album: Bringing It All Back Home

Artist: Bob Dylan

Year: 1965

My Favorite Song: Subterranean Homesick Blues

Tomorrow: The Stones

Blue

Rolling Stone Rank:30

Hello again, my computer was down again for a few days.  So, sorry to my hundreds of fans I'm sure you were on the edge of your seat.  Just kidding.  In case your reading this, I know that I'm the only one that reads these things, which is fine with me. 

The album I listened to a few days ago was Joni Mitchell's Blue.  Fantastic.  As I've said many times, the music that I respect most is the one that comes from the heart.  For me, it's passion.  That's the only thing that matters.  It doesn't matter the genre, doesn't matter the style, or really the era.  If you can feel that passion, that raw emotion, then you can really connect to an artist and to the music.

It's one of the reasons that I don't like rap music as much as other kinds.  I mean, yes, there are exceptions, from what I've heard about Kanye's new album, it's filled with emotion.  And while it's not the style people aren't used to, it's the emotion that draws you in.  The main problem I have with most rap is that I feel like the artist could care less about what he/she is doing.  They could care less about what they're saying, it's just a total turn off for me.  

Anyways, back to Blue.  I loved it.  It wasn't great to exercises to, but I listen to it later in the car, and it really came alive.  The emotion just pours out of every single song.  And so simplistic, so bare bones, I really enjoyed it.  Anyways, give it a listen.  Tell me what you think.

Stats

Album: Blue

Artist: Joni Mitchell

Year: 1971

Favorite Song: A Case of You

Tomorrow: Dylan

Led Zeppelin

Rollins Stone Rank: 29

Hello faithful reader(s). As you may or may not know, my personal life has had some major changes in the past few weeks. Anyways, I thought this would be a good time to get back to listening to the music that I love. Something about wanting something in my life to stay great, while rest of it falls apart. ok, so. moving on.

I totally agree with the Rolling Stone writer on this one. Listening to this album was like watching Jordan at UNC. Wow, you knew if was great, and yeah they won some games, but you had no idea he would be that good. Same thoughts on these boys from England. The first thing that jumps out at you is "wow, Robert Plant has a ridiculous voice". His range and emotion shine though on this album, almost drowning out the rest of the band.

Essentially the album is signature blues. The first few songs fool you with some pretty heavy guitar riffs, but by You Shook Me you can tell the albums true spirit It has all the usual aspects you would expect. Slow moving, blues progressions, elongated guitar solos, with little to no chord change underneath. I love the guttural screams that Plant gives throughout the album, most notably in Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown.

Overall, a great listen. I would obviously recommend this to anyone . It would be great to listen to all the Zeppelin albums chronologically. They are a great example of a band that kept getting better with each successive album.  But, that's not my game.

That's it for me, a short one to get this back up and running again. Oh yeah, Happy Holidays

Stats:

Album: Led Zeppelin

Artist: Led Zeppelin

Year: 1969

My Favorite Song: You Shook Me

Tomorrow: Joni

Who's Next

Rolling Stone Rank: 28

Last day before work starts, so expect the frequency of these post to drop off, but I hope to continue to write even if no one reads. I have kind of enjoyed writing about all the music that I'm listening to, in fact today I went back and read some of the earlier posts. quality. Anyways, the summer didn't go exactly as planned, but I definitely enjoyed it. btw, what a great way to end the summer.

Who's Next, the epic album that followed Tommy. Townshends use of synthesizers really makes the album unique from the rest of the music coming out of the rock genre at the time. completely a studio album, which I love, Who's Next starts off with a bang in Baba O'Riley. Most of the songs in the album vary between prog rock, acoustic, or straight rock. But nothing tops the closing song of the album. One of the greatest songs ever written, Won't Get Fooled Again, really brings the album together.

But then it got used in a tv show.... please to enjoy:

Take some time, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Stats:

Album: Who's Next
Artist: The Who
Year: 1971
My Favorite Song: Behind Blue Eyes
Tomorrow: Led Zeppelin

King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1

Rolling Stone Rank: 27

Not much to say about this album, it is really great but it is in the vane of all the other compilations that I have listened to thus far. It's not really the best of listening, but it's truly fascinating tho hear the beginnings of Rock and Roll.

Also, the myths surrounding Robert Johnson are extremely captivating. All the stories revolve around a meeting between Johnson and The Devil. As legend has it, he sold his soul for his musical talent. I can't remember exactly where I read it, but there was this first-hand account of somebody who knew Johnson before and after his "transformation". This type of story-telling is pretty common for the blues genre, people go ape over this kind of stuff.

Anyway, I love the album, but I wouldn't recommend it for a casual fan. The sound just doesn't translate well to 2008. But for you music majors, or blues fans its a great album to have. It shows the beginning of blues, and further along the line, rock.

Take some time, take a listen, post your thoughts.

Stats:

Album: King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1
Artist: Robert Johnson
Year: 1961
My Favorite Song: Hellhound on my Trail
Tomorrow: The Who