Hi there! It's been a long time since I've felt like blogging. For a few reasons, mostly being that I don't feel quite as passionate as I did before. The internet is a wonderful place where you can voice your opinions on just about anyone and you can probably find a group of people who will agree with you.
Another reason being that I am legitimately a pretty busy person. I make music myself and I am now making music for a television program on the PBS channel. I am a very big fan of Joe Raposo and this is a dream come true for me, so I try to put as much of my energy into my artistic endeavors as I can.
Finally, a few people have asked me why I never provide links to download music without paying for it. My first thought to that is that there are so many other music blogs out there that already do this, but I've always just cared more about journalism than piracy and I've cared more about music than uploading files online. (See my Beach Boys blog for evidence of this). Then, my second thought is that I am one of the few rather small blogs (not counting websites like pitchfork) that actually interview artists that I really love on the telephone. I spend days and sometimes weeks researching things and really gathering my thoughts to do my updates and interviews and I would hate to lose the respect that I think I earn from my favorite artists by insultingly sharing music that I have no permission to share after complimenting them by speaking to them.
I hope you will always want to get to know small artists better by reading about them, and then choose to support them if you really like them. Having said that, I hope I will be able to do a lot more interviews and reviews (which are the things that I care about the most) on my blog.
I'll start right now with some quick reviews on some of my favorite new albums.
The male member of this band, Johan Angergård, is also a member of one of my favorite Swedish bands, Acid House Kings and the girl at his side is Karolina Komstedt, from another beautiful band, Poprace. This supergroup of soft indiepop have released several albums together over the last 13 years, but their most recent album, The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming is their best to date. Slightly religious toned, the album is still gentle and beautiful. If you enjoy bands like the Submarines or Acid House Kings this is for you. (myspace)
The debut album from the Italian group Fitness Forever is nothing short of a masterpiece. The band is now signed to the brilliant Spanish label Elefant Records and rightfully so. Personal Train is loaded to the brim with strings, horns, bells and vocals that create a symphonic sound that even surpasses the best Beach Boys arrangements. The band's song writer Carlos Valderrama describes the band as his challenge to create pop perfection and it is extremely clear that he has created nothing but perfection with this beautiful album. (myspace)
This album came out a while ago, but I don't care because I still like it. The theme of this update is mostly extremely gentle orchestrated music and The Postmarks are just about the most beautiful band I know of today. Their singer Tim Yehezkely (yes, a woman) has the best female voice since Karen Carpenter passed away. This album just screams class, with jazzy arrangements and lush production it stands in a league its own. It is just impossible to explain why this album is so much better than all the others who attempt to copy their sound. The only way to know is to listen. Heart break never felt so good. (myspace)
Another reason being that I am legitimately a pretty busy person. I make music myself and I am now making music for a television program on the PBS channel. I am a very big fan of Joe Raposo and this is a dream come true for me, so I try to put as much of my energy into my artistic endeavors as I can.
Finally, a few people have asked me why I never provide links to download music without paying for it. My first thought to that is that there are so many other music blogs out there that already do this, but I've always just cared more about journalism than piracy and I've cared more about music than uploading files online. (See my Beach Boys blog for evidence of this). Then, my second thought is that I am one of the few rather small blogs (not counting websites like pitchfork) that actually interview artists that I really love on the telephone. I spend days and sometimes weeks researching things and really gathering my thoughts to do my updates and interviews and I would hate to lose the respect that I think I earn from my favorite artists by insultingly sharing music that I have no permission to share after complimenting them by speaking to them.
I hope you will always want to get to know small artists better by reading about them, and then choose to support them if you really like them. Having said that, I hope I will be able to do a lot more interviews and reviews (which are the things that I care about the most) on my blog.
I'll start right now with some quick reviews on some of my favorite new albums.
The male member of this band, Johan Angergård, is also a member of one of my favorite Swedish bands, Acid House Kings and the girl at his side is Karolina Komstedt, from another beautiful band, Poprace. This supergroup of soft indiepop have released several albums together over the last 13 years, but their most recent album, The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Dreaming is their best to date. Slightly religious toned, the album is still gentle and beautiful. If you enjoy bands like the Submarines or Acid House Kings this is for you. (myspace)
The debut album from the Italian group Fitness Forever is nothing short of a masterpiece. The band is now signed to the brilliant Spanish label Elefant Records and rightfully so. Personal Train is loaded to the brim with strings, horns, bells and vocals that create a symphonic sound that even surpasses the best Beach Boys arrangements. The band's song writer Carlos Valderrama describes the band as his challenge to create pop perfection and it is extremely clear that he has created nothing but perfection with this beautiful album. (myspace)
This album came out a while ago, but I don't care because I still like it. The theme of this update is mostly extremely gentle orchestrated music and The Postmarks are just about the most beautiful band I know of today. Their singer Tim Yehezkely (yes, a woman) has the best female voice since Karen Carpenter passed away. This album just screams class, with jazzy arrangements and lush production it stands in a league its own. It is just impossible to explain why this album is so much better than all the others who attempt to copy their sound. The only way to know is to listen. Heart break never felt so good. (myspace)
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