The Beauty of the Sounds

I reviewed Bon Iver's new album a while back, but here's the quick summary. I expected a shift towards a mainstream sound, and although the brilliance and rawness of For Emma, Forever Ago was something that could not be replicated without being hackneyed, I was fearful of a poor sound. I was blown away. Since I'm lucky enough to see Bon Iver in concert when he visits Seattle, I've been listening a lot to all of his music, from For Emma, Forever Ago to the newest release, as well as the Blood Bank EP and the single from Dark Was The Night. I've listened to a lot of music, from all kinds of genres and time periods. The beauty of the sounds that Justin Vernon creates are unlike anything I've heard. When I think of some of my favorite songs ever: Slide by the Goo Goo Dolls, Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead, Dogs by Damien Rice, Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones, the Temptation of Adam by Josh Ritter, they all have certain reasons why I love them so much, from specific lyrics to creschendoing choruses. But I'm rarely taken aback by anything. Yet every time I hear the initial notes of Holocene or Perth or Michicant I have to stop whatever I'm doing. I have to sit back and let the music wash over me because I'm incapacitated by the beauty of the sounds. Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, Whitney Houston's F#5 in I Will Always Love You, Thank You For Hearing Me by Sinead O'Connor are a few rare examples of music that has the similar effect.

Frightened Rabbit

Last night I had the pleasure of experiencing Frightened Rabbit in concert. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, frontman Scott Hutchinson acknowledged that "this is still kind of big for us" to the 1100 devoted fans in the Metro. They have somewhat of a cult following, with almost all of the crowd knowing the lyrics to every song. Their sound is unique, their talent undeniable, their music infectious, and their emotion sincere. "Skip The Youth" set the tone for the night, raising pulses and filling ears with joy. "Living In Colour", "Old Fashioned", and "The Twist" stirred the crowd into a toe-tapping, booty-shaking frenzy, joining with the audience in a glorious union of happy voices. The stripped-down, acoustically driven "Poke" hushed the masses with its simplistic, biting lyrics, and "My Backwards Walk" bit to the core with its dark, cynical, and hopelessly realistic lyrics. A few years ago, I road-tripped to Cleveland (yikes) to witness Damien Rice in concert. I did not expect that concert to be eclipsed so soon or so completely. So Seattle, go on May 16, Portland on May 17, or come to Chicago in August so you can too share in my delight and fervor.

Music Rankings Ongoing

Since compiling my best albums of 2009 list, I've begun two new, almost exactly similar projects. One is my best albums of 2010 list. Since I'm starting early, I'll end up ranking more albums than in 2009, and will take decidedly less time to finalize them. I'm also attempting to rank every album in my iTunes library. So far I've made it through 368, but alas my pace will slow down as I slog through my less listened to albums. A few notes:

• 2010 current #1-The Winter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit
• 2010 current #2-Let The Hard Times Roll by David Ford
• 2010 current #3-Gorilla Manor by Local Natives
• 2010 current #4-One Life Stand by Hot Chip
• 2010 current #5-Plastic Beach by Gorillaz
• 2010 current last place #33-Feast of the Hunters' Moon by Black Prairie
• 9 by Damien Rice and The Midnight Organ by Frightened Rabbit are tied for my favorite album of all time
• I have a hard time seeing how any album can overtake Lady Antebellum's Self Titled 2009 release for my least favorite album of all time, especially since I don't seek out music I know I won't like. In Lady Antebellum's case, I simply saw iTunes charts littered with her songs, and gave it a listen without knowing the genre or anything else.