I have written about this Manchesterband here somewhere in the blog at least on six different occasions, and a little better than ten yearsago, in a similar listening challenge,but with the CD collection, where I vowed not to listen to everything, butto one full album by each artist, I couldn’t help myself. I listenedat thatContinue reading “#684: E is for Elbow”
Tag Archives: music
#683: E is for Elephant Gym
Bass-forward jazz fusion from Taiwan, with healthy doses of pop, hip hop, math rock. The tunes are often instrumental, but sometimes there’s a lead vocal, usually from a guest artist, and, as Elephant Gym is an internationally collaborative unit, the vocals might be sungin Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, or English. Sometimes Elephant Gym gets noisy, butContinue reading “#683: E is for Elephant Gym”
#682: E is for Eilish, Billie
I see her as both adorableand as a serious artist. Adorable, in that, like Swift, but perhaps even more-so, she seems to exude goodness. And her creative collaborationwith her brother Finneas is perhaps the most adorablesibling musical endeavor ever. They clearly love each otherand are astoundingly well-matchedin their talents and tastes. Finneas is an enormouslyContinue reading “#682: E is for Eilish, Billie”
#681: E is for Ed and the Boats
We must have been about 17years of age. Dating, and both drummers, we had not yet figured out a wayto make our own music, outsideof her on the drum kit and me on lead vocals in our very firstgarage band. I had found a coupleof seasoned (24 year old) musicians, a bass player and keyboardistwhoContinue reading “#681: E is for Ed and the Boats”
#680: E is for Eels (18, 20, 22, 24)
Mark Oliver Everett’s father was a famous quantum mechanic, the scientistwho first posited the theory of the multiverse, of simultaneous alternative realities. There’s a documentary called Parallel Universe, Parallel Lives about E’s dadfrom E’s perspective, including interviewsby an assortment of science luminarieswho say that this guy’s theories were as significant if not more-so than Einstein’s.AsContinue reading “#680: E is for Eels (18, 20, 22, 24)”
#679: E is for Eels (96, 05, 15)
There are only two degrees of separationbetween me and one of my rock heroes because a bass player friend of mine, a bassplayer that has played in bands with meover these many years, has alsotoured with Eels on several occasionsand ultimately was recorded and filmedfor the triple record/concert film from 2015, Royal Albert Hall, aContinue reading “#679: E is for Eels (96, 05, 15)”
#678: E is for Earth Wind & Fire
I Am is the name of this record. I am having a dance party herein my study at 11:30 in the morning. I am grooving to these funky rhythms from “In the Stone” right out of the gate, and the funk hardly lets up for half a second as the tracks segue from one toContinue reading “#678: E is for Earth Wind & Fire”
#677: D is for Dylan
I have never really liked the musicof Bob Dylan. Only one or two exceptionsstand out in memory. The first: hearing covers of Dylan’s music by the Byrds. I liked the Byrds, and I liked their covers, but, at the time, I had no clue these were Bob Dylan’s songs. The second: As a child thereContinue reading “#677: D is for Dylan”
#676: D is for Dry Cleaning
I In the short storied tradition of spoken word poetswho front rock bands, stands Florence Shaw, the lead singer, or speaker, the raconteusefor post-punk English rock band Dry Cleaning. She does not sing, although she can carrya tune, as evidenced by the occasional humming or melodic lyric line. Mostly, she talks, recites, speaks her poemsContinue reading “#676: D is for Dry Cleaning”
#675: D is for The Dresden Dolls
I remember thatI came across this albumyears after its releaseat a sidewalk sale at oneof Portland’s most historicrecord stores. I had heard of them, nothing else, so I decided, maybe intriguedby the art work and by a screaming deal, to buy thisalbum. Later when I became interested briefly in Amanda Palmer’s solo stuff, it tookContinue reading “#675: D is for The Dresden Dolls”