http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/ The Voice of Energy Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:20:01 PDT http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2008. Music Writing http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/80.html Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:16:58 GMT Well, I've had a good run here on Blogdrive, but tiring of their look, feel and functionality, I'm moving away from this site to a blog using WordPress. I'm going to get all the entries from here ported over and on that site and be blogging from there. Update your links, ladies and gentlemen: http://thevoiceofenergy.wordpress.com http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=80 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/79.html Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:45:41 GMT Spent the last hour or so getting caught up in Horse Feathers' gorgeous new album. I'm going to be writing a review of it for Willamette Week tonight but my initial thoughts have helped solidify something that has for some bizarre reason been troubling me for a while now - why I can't seem to get into Fleet Foxes. On a face value glance, both bands are fairly similar in their approaches to this neo-folk genre that has the Northwest under its sway lately, but Horse Feathers seems to capture something that FF just can't. Listening to the HF album, I think I've narrowed it down to two key... (more) http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=79 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/78.html Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:42:43 GMT I'm working through my healthy iTunes library (as of this moment: 9912 songs, 26.8 days, 50.01 GB) song by song and in alphabetical order (by song title). I've only gotten part of the way through the As. For highlights, I suggest tapping into my Muxtape where I will be updating as regularly as I can the best stuff that I come into contact with during this little journey into the unknown. http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=78 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/76.html Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:48:18 GMT Like most musicians relegated to the "oldies" section of record stores and radio stations, Fats Domino is strictly associated with a few songs in the collective unconscious of most U.S. citizens: "Blueberry Hill", "My Blue Heaven", "I'm Walkin'", "Ain't That A Shame", "Whole Lotta Loving" and "Blue Monday." Granted, those tracks alone are more than enough to relegate Fats to the higher echelons of rock 'n' roll infamy, but I think it is a testament to the vast catalog of brilliant material that he has recorded in his lifetime that an album of so-called million-sellers features none... (more) http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=76 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/75.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:18:58 GMT Muxtape updated. Leave comments here. Favorite there. http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=75 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/74.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:32:11 GMT I've never understood the mindset that forces people to try to seek out a "crossover success." Obviously its all about adding to one's already overstuffed coffers of cash that convinces a musician that they should act or vice versa and pushes a musician to do something like try to appeal to a completely new audience. If history has proven anything, it's that experiments like this - with few exceptions -usually result with the person in question sounding or looking absolutely ridiculous and out of place. This is especially true of country music stars. All I have to do is say the two... (more) http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=74 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/73.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:28:53 GMT Somehow, and I'm not entirely sure how this happened, my record collection became overtaken by country & western and bluegrass albums. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as I am a fan of both genres, but it isn't like I've been buying or been bequeathed with a collection of western swing 78s or rare Hank Williams singles or anything. No, my shelves are now cluttered with mid-'60s to late-'70s country records featuring a bevy of old guard Nashville stars holding their credibility and stardom in a death grip and a few newcomers that, while not pushing any boundaries, settle into the modes... (more) http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=73 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/72.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:20:30 GMT http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=72 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/71.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:56:01 GMT For my more observant readers, you'll note that I was only able to attend the evening performances on the Saturday of the PDX Pop Now festival. And I didn't make it all the way to the end of the night on Saturday. Nor did I show up on Sunday. My excuses: I had an early Sunday deadline and a wife and child to take care of. If that's not good enough for you...I don't know what is anymore. Anyway, here are my hastily scribbled notes concerning the performances I did see on Saturday, which were, again, by and large, amazing. I don't know if my Oregonian review brought that to light or not, but... (more) http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=71 http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/archive/70.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:37:37 GMT Thanks to the variety of sites that have been providing me with a surfeit of albums to download, my brain is getting thrown in about six different musical directions today. I find myself bouncing between Adam and the Ants' Dirk Wears White Sox, the new Vale Seinfeld-themed mixtape, The Divine Comedy's masterful album Casanova (especially the wry and cheeky song "In And Out of Paris and London", the first album by Blind Pilot (who had me gawking blissfully at the PDX Pop Now fest this year), and some nutty late '60s pop by The Groop. Sure, I can make some connections between the albums, but... (more) http://thevoiceofenergy.blogdrive.com/comments?id=70