Good morning-
7 years since the last post. Here's what's on my mind:
1. I hate reading things that I wrote and posted to the internet in the past. Things I thought were deep and well thought out seem contrived and poorly composed. It's embarrassing. I put two spaces after periods. What the fuck was I thinking? Did I proofread none of it? I can't wait until 2026 when I look back on this post with utter disdain.
I don't know why I started with a numbered bullet point. The rest of this post will be a jumbled mess of thoughts about music. Here we go.
Why did I just sign up for Spotify premium only this past week? It is worth every penny and then some. I feel so far behind the times but I suppose it's better late than never. What a world. So much music. At work. In the car. Lying in bed. I've been missing out.
What ways do you discover music? Seriously- if you somehow find yourself reading this, I want you to leave a comment. For a couple of years after my last post, I was discovering music at music festivals. Two trips to Bonnaroo and a trip to Osheaga introduced me to quite a bit. I attended those festivals over a three year period between 2013 and 2015. I try and keep my eye on big festival lineups, and they just don't seem to have the same luster today. Am I old and out of touch? No, no. It's the young people who are wrong.
One way I have consistently discovered more music, for a much longer period of time, is through the NPR Tiny Desk series. So many artists who I've obsessed over that I may have never discovered short of the Tiny Desk. To name a few: Thundercat, Andy Shauf, Anderson Paak, Aimee Mann, Nate Wood, Nate Smith. Even musicians like Chick Corea and Gary Burton, who I've always known about were illuminated in a new light behind (or in front of?) the Tiny Desk. I've really benefited from this series as a means of discovery. Nate Smith has even begun to collaborate with Vulfpeck!? What an insane collision of two worlds which I had no idea even knew of each-other's existence. These are two artists who are on the top of my 'must see' list. If I could see them at a single show, that would be insanity.
I've also recently gotten over a 4-5 month obsession with the Crash Test Dummies. Well, one album: God Shuffled His Feet. I had re-re-rediscovered the album maybe in October or November of last year, and CTD just so happened to be gearing up to launch a tour for the 25th anniversary of the album! What are the odds? My Dad and I caught their show in Fall River in December. It was mildly disappointing. Not sure what the sound guy was thinking. The whole show was kind of blown out for the size of the venue and the style of music. Plus, I was disappointed that Dan Roberts' bass playing wasn't showcased like I had hoped. Afternoons and Coffeespoons was performed acoustically without any bass guitar accompaniment. Additionally, they completely omitted 'Here I Stand Before Me'. That bugged me since they were on tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of this album. That was another track where I was looking forward to the bass guitar performance. Oh well. I can now say without lying that I've been to a Crash Test Dummies show. Weird, I know, but, you'll have to take my word for it. God Shuffled His Feet is a great album. I can take the heat.
