Tuesday, September 14, 2010

new music tuesday

long ago - in the days before marriage and kids and soccer practices and yard work, tuesday meant something special to me. for quite some time, new music has been released on tuesdays. and thus - tuesday meant something. in the mid to late '90's - i spent many-a-tuesday leaving work and driving straight to Best Buy or some other music outlet to pick up the most recent release.

my cd collection ballooned as a result.

now tuesdays are simply days - filled with busyness, practices, quick meals on the go and parenting and homework with the kids, etc.

so what made today special? well for the first time in a long time i was anticipating two new music releases. rather than driving to Best Buy after work - i pre-ordered the albums on iTunes. i woke up early to download the albums so i could have them ready to listen to on my iPod in the car as i drove to a meeting.

so today has been a special day... reminiscent of the days of yore. even better: i am really enjoying both albums. these days, there are no guarantees - especially when it comes to new music.

so what did i download?




Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns
a concept album. there are no songs - this is an album. o.k. there are songs , but to truly appreciate the sounds of this recording, one must listen to it as a whole. admittedly, i was a bit skeptical. everyone loved LP's debut Hybrid Theory, and their other albums have been decent - but not must haves. but after a few listens, i am really enjoying A Thousand Suns. It's gritty. industrial. a bit of a shift for die hard LP fans - but i think it's a positive step. the listening experience plays in your mind like a movie (without the silver screen).






Underworld - Barking

i've long been a fan of Underworld. like many, the movie Trainspotting introduced me to this british house band 14 years ago. Born Slippy intrigued me. the Pearls Girl EP hooked me.

I had previously skipped their last few projects (Oblivion with Bells and their mix cd's) - but decided to give them another chance. i found the video for Scribble on youtube and that got me excited.

Barking is a fun, electronic album. it's nothing cutting edge. nothing that hasn't been done before - but so far, it's an enjoyable listen. frankly, that's all that matters. i'd love to see them in concert, if they ever come to the States.



new music tuesday. nothing finer. i'm just happy that both albums are a delight. no let down. no buyers remorse.

3 comments:

troy. said...

The year was 1996. I was home on break from my freshman year in college. MTV played this show called AMP at like 2AM (on Sunday, I believe). I taped it (as in VHS) every week.

It wasn't music like I'd ever heard before -- all created electronically. And the videos were not videos like I'd seen before -- mostly either animations or artsy film endeavors that were impossible to interpret.

Underworld's Pearl's Girl was a staple on that show, and to this day, when I hear that trademark singing of theirs -- I'm taken back to '96. It's so crazy.

Haven't heard this new album yet, but may have to look into it when I have a second.

Unknown said...

this is strange because i, also would record (on VHS) AMP.

i spent the fall of '96 in LA... with frequent visits to the small record shops (along with the movie Trainspotting) i was introduced into the world of electronica. AMP helped me discover other great electronic acts of the day.

troy. said...

Remember Photek's Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (Two Swords Technique)? Honest to God its a top 15 of all time song for me!

And I probably still have a tape full of AMP somewhere in my attic -- it'll be cool someday when my kid pulls that box down and starts exploring!