Moving Operations

Dear faithful readers of this blog (of which I'm sure there are very few, if any at all):

I'm moving operations to Wordpress, where I'm doing a music blog with my friend which will be pretty much like this one. It's called "Magic Albums" (or "Magical Bums") and it's very neat. It think you will enjoy it very much if you've enjoyed this blog.

Anyway, link is here.

"On Musing Music" itself will be put out of commission. I know, sad. I've had so much fun, but in a way, it's like it's evolving into the new thing. 

Well, take care.

Jackson Browne - The Pretender

Any man can live a life. But not every man can live. 

Am I really living? Am I following my dreams, am I working towards the goals I've set for myself? Will I make it? Can I make it? What if I wake up one day when I'm forty and realize this is not what I wanted, that this wasn't right, that I squandered the one life I had, the one life that is over before I even blink?

All of these questions come flooding into my mind every time I listen to The Pretender. 

This is yet another album it took me a while to come around to. I was stuck to listening to track eight, "The Pretender," over and over, so much so that I didn't fully listen to the whole album until months after I bought it.  

Wow, what a song! I can't describe how close "The Pretender" is to me. When I first got this album when I was eighteen, I disdained the pretender, that man who gives up on his dreams to live an ordinary life. 

But now I know that chances are that man will be me. I'm still young, but I have to make the most of every day, everyday, to avoid the fate of 99 percent of the world's population.

Everyone believes in something when they're young. Their pockets are full of dreams, dreams that will take them all around the world. But then they grow older - not just in years, but in tears. Someone dies. Someone hurts them. They hurt someone else. Pain happens. They come to realize that dreams are just that - dreams. They begin to realize that what they need is money in their pockets, not dreams.  

Then, people really begin to live life: they fall in love, get married,  earn a living, live in suburbia, buy an S.U.V., have spoiled kids, watch movies where fictional characters accomplish their dreams (almost magically) and live happily ever after. They way they never could.

Sometimes, dreams are just too much trouble. People don't want pain, don't want to bleed, don't want to be laughed at and mocked.

The Pretender gets me asking such questions about life. Jackson Browne puts the feelings and thoughts all of us have into words, and is a masterful poet for that reason. 

I always  find myself always reaching for this album when I come to doubt certain things in my life, or the purpose of life in general. It reminds me that nothing in this life lasts - and that most things are empty and pointless, and it's very difficult to tell in life what matters and what doesn't. 

This seems to be a depressing thought. But it is also a liberating thought.

Why?  Partly through The Pretender, I now know that whatever I think I might have in my life, it's all worth losing for the sake of living a life that's worth living.

My favorites are "The Fuse," "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate," and of course, "The Pretender." The other tracks are good, but they can't touch the ones I listed.

This album is full of "one-liner bits of wisdom." Here are a few:

"But the times that we were happy / Were the times we never tried."

"Forget what life used to be / You are what you choose to be /It's whatever it is you see /That life will become."

"Whatever it is you might think you have / You have nothing to lose / Through every dead and living thing / Time runs like a fuse / And the fuse is burning / And the earth is turning."

"The fear of living for nothing strangles the will."

"Oh Lord / Are there really people starving still? / Look out beyond the walls of Babylon /How long will their needs go unfilled?"

"You watch yourself from the sidelines / Like your life is a game you don't mind playing."

Wilco - Summerteeth

Move aside, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

I know, it was merely last week that I gave you glowing accolades that put a New Year's firework show to shame. But I've found a new love, Summerteeth.

I went to the BCS national championship a few days ago (I just got back, in fact). What a depressing game. 

The car ride there and back was almost as depressing, at about eighteen hours one-way. Around hour nine or so, I felt the cabin fever begin to grip me. Who would placate me in my time of turmoil?

I picked up my iPod and turned it to Wilco. Trusty old Wilco, the band I always mean to listen to, but never do. They had me as a captive audience now, as it was in that prison of a car where I heard the first strains of Summerteeth just a few days ago.

It was love at first sound. The song that really stuck out to me was "She's a Jar." It's a very smooth jam. It's just so catchy and perfectly crafted. I love the harmonica, the unexpected chord changes, the strings. It all just works to perfectly together.

And of course, there's "A Shot in the Arm," one of Wilco's more popular tunes.

Other highlights for me include "ELT," "How to Fight Loneliness," and "My Darling."

Wilco is one of the greatest relatively new American bands recording and touring today. How I'd love to see them live...

u.n.p.o.c. - Fifth Column

If the Beach Boys, the Pixies, and the Velvet Underground had a threeway marriage. u.n.p.o.c. would be their baby.

This album is unbelievably catchy. I must admit that before listening to this I had a severe bias against music that was too catchy, too pop. Of course, I'm a huge hypocrite for liking the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but somehow those bands are magically exempt.

Pop matters. This is nowhere near pop because hardly anyone has heard of u.n.p.o.c. - but the same hooks that make any pop song great are present in Fifth Column. Very lo-fi, this is a hidden gem in the world of catchy, acoustic indie music.

I might also mention this is a one-man act. Or at least I'm pretty sure it is, cause I can't find any information on the net suggesting there is more than one man. His man's name is Tom Bauchop and he lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. I think he has something to do with the a small-time recording company...

This record is one that really just makes me want to pick up my own guitar and write something.

Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

April 1, 2007. A day which will live in infamy (for me).

I was going to see Explosions in the Sky live at the University of Oklahoma (where I attend).

I was quite "stoked," as one might say. Actually, for a while I thought it was a cruel April Fools joke. But when it was confirmed by others that Explosions in the Sky were in fact playing, I was pretty darn excited.

But I never got to go to that concert. I'm still a little sad about it - especially since EITS won't be touring again anytime soon. They ran out of tickets - I was pretty sure they would have some leftover, but I got there too late. Lesson: always go Ticketmaster.

But on the way, I saw Munaf (a guitarist for the band) sitting with some members of the opening band on a bench outside the student union. My friend and I got a picture with him. I hoped it didn't annoy him too much. I always get nervous around famous musicians (and people) for some reason. Not that they are exactly that famous...

Anyway, enough of my pity party. The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place was my introduction to Explosions in the Sky. It is their best release, in my opinion, but certainly there is something to love in everything they do.

For me, each song is a story.  "First Breath After Coma" is about a woman waking from a long coma, her husband sitting nearby, holding her hand. The first notes of the guitar mimic the metronome of a heart monitor beeping - the bass drum the heart beat. The beauty of the song builds up, a full celebration of a life not taken for granted in the least.

My favorite track is probably "The Only Moment When We Were Alone." Just the emotions conveyed - the highs, the lows, the louds, the softs - is absolutely epic. Unlike the first one I don't have a particular story to go with it.

Probably the fan favorite of EITS is "Your Hand in Mine," which is played on Friday Night Lights. It certainly is a wonderful track, but the first two cannot be touched with their power.

A very beautiful accomplishment by one of my favorite bands.

last.fm

In case none of you knew (though you probably do), there's this cool Internet program I forgot about until just now called last.fm. It keeps track of every song you play in your iTunes, so you can see what artist of yours is the most popular for the day, week, month, etc.

It hosts tons of music videos and free tracks to listen to online to explore music similar to your tastes...or maybe not so similar. Pretty sweet. And you can keep track of all the concerts that go on in your area.

As well, you can find like-minded people who like the same, weirdo bands you do.

I'm sure there's a whole plethora of other things it offers. It's basically a Facebook for music.

Link is here.