I had a dream I stood in Neil Young's kitchen

11:13 pm: take it from your grandmother, I've been 'round
I'm finally going to update about the album I've been talking about for about two months or something. Slow and steady wins the race!

The album in question is one I was particularly looking forward to: Inland Territory by Vienna Teng. As you may have noticed, I've been a big fan of Vienna for a while now, so I expected particularly great things from this album, but she not only delivered but well exceeded my expectations. (I know you're probably sick of me raving about every damn album I get, but what can I say, I tend to enjoy the artists I like.) Her previous albums have been wonderful, but I consider this one an exceptional gem. Not only is the songwriting phenomenal, but the performances, arrangements and overall production are all absolutely flawless. Vienna Teng has a voice like an angel, and her piano playing is incredibly intricate and emotive. The sound in general is as warm and lush as on previous albums, but there are some elements that haven't been used much before (the funky keyboards in "White Light", the clarinet in "In Another Life", the clapping in "Grandmother Song") and that work extremely well with the overall sound. The oldies influences that abound (in the form of clarinets and such) mix very nicely with the more modern keyboards and the like as well. I've always loved how soft and organic her albums sound, with no jarring little bits that stick out but everything fitting together smoothly – kind of forming a warm musical blanket that wraps around you all warm and soft, without ever becoming just dull background noise. This is what I think she's achieved with the latest album as well. In addition, who would guest star on guitar on two songs (as far as I recall, "No Gringo" and "St. Stephen's Cross") but Kaki King! One of the highest levels of awesomeness has thus been reached.

As I've mentioned before, what I consider Vienna Teng's biggest advantage over most other piano-playing singer/songwriters is her unbelievable songwriting ability, both music and lyric-wise. Somehow she always seems to know the right words to describe a situation or voice some particular emotion in the most beautiful way, and really makes the listener relate to the song. Some of her songs tell such a good story they could be turned into a book or a film like THAT, while others manage to put into words something I've always felt but never known how to express. At the same time, her melodies aren't just a necessary evil needed to turn her poems into songs, but beautiful pieces of music and often really catchy, too. It's the songwriting that makes Inland Territory truly, truly special too. Even though the songs cover a wide range of topics, they still feel like they go together.

Choosing favourite songs from this album is even more difficult than usual, because really, they're all pretty much stunning. However, the first track that stands out from this spectacular collection of songs would have to be the album opener, "The Last Snowfall", one of the prettiest things I've ever heard (the keyboards and the backing vocals say it all), followed by a string of masterpieces, such as the wonderful and hella funky "White Light" dealing with hypocrisy (I was a little iffy on the keyboards at first, but now I'm completely sold), the heartbreaking waltz "Kansas", the ingenious "Grandmother Song" (taking the point of view of a grandma sharing some wisdom and wrapping it in a delightfully olden-time-y hand-clapping, foot-stomping package makes my indescribably happy), and the wonderfully wry "why did I have to fall in love when I was doing so good being all alone and sour" song "Stray Italian Grayhound". "No Gringo" is not only absolutely beautiful but also one of the most inspired story songs I can think of (it's the future, the States have lost their superpower status and US citizens have to leave for Mexico to search for work in vain), and "St. Stephen's Cross" is amazingly intimate and majestic at the same time. But really, listen to the whole album, it's magic from start to finish.

I know I may say this a lot, but this is one of my absolute favourite albums of at least this year so far, and I can't recommend it enough. If you're at all like me, listening to this album will make you feel all warm and fuzzy, and also grateful for getting the chance to hear something as genuinely beautiful as this. I can assure you that's how I feel.

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In other news: we got the Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 box set today! I'm telling you, it's MASSIVE – tons and tons of CDs and DVDs and a booklet and all sorts of insanely awesome stuff. More on the subject sure to follow!

Tags: vienna teng

07:35 pm: can't start a fire without a spark
I know I still have an album to update about, but I've been a lazy bum and now it's coming back to haunt me as stuff keeps piling up and I have to cover more current topics first. I'm seriously trying to be better from now on.

However, please forgive me for feeling like I have to update about certain things as quickly as possible – gigs, for example, and in this case, no less than a Bruce Springsteen gig! I mentioned a while back that I would be able to see Springsteen for the second time this summer, and on June 2nd in Tampere, I actually did. I already felt incredibly lucky for having had the chance to see him even once, and having been able to attend two shows feels surreal. Again, the gig took place well outside my hometown, so it was another road trip for me and most of my family (also attending). Some family bonding!

I hardly feel like I need to say it, but the gig was AMAZING. Few people can put on a show like sir Bruce, and even fewer can play for almost three hours virtually non-stop (seriously: song after song without so much as a break for breath between them) whilst running around the stage, switching guitars and fetching harmonicas, getting song request signs and flirting with the audience, goofing off with the band and all sorts of crazy stuff. I felt like there was more interaction with both the audience and the other band members than last time, the mood in general felt even more relaxed and festive this time. Besides Bruce himself, the E Street Band was in top form, even though Max Weinberg was missing (I imagine it's got to do with the Tonight Show's transitional situation), as was Patti Scialfa (who, according to Bruce, was at home with their children). As in previous shows this year, filling in for Max was his son Jay, who was really energetic and overall excellent. There were also two backing singers, Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle, from the Seeger Sessions Band, who sounded amazing. Oh, and have I ever mentioned what a total LEGEND Nils Lofgren is? He played some of the most stupefying guitar solos (namely, on "The Ghost of Tom Joad" – holy CRAP is all I'm saying) and displayed general awesomeness by doing stuff like battling it out with Steve van Zandt (an awesome human being, and particularly mischievous and jokey in his interaction with Bruce) and playing Roy Bittan's accordion while he played Nils's guitar. It makes a great show even more enjoyable when it looks like the musicians are having fun, and this is one band that always manages to do that.

The setlist was brilliant. Opening with "Badlands" is always a good idea, as it's about the most elevating song ever, especially when followed by pretty much equally massive "Radio Nowhere". "Outlaw Pete", the album version of which is fairly epic, was extraordinarily impressive live, and the beautiful images and videos on the screen behind the musicians complemented the song extremely well (as did Bruce's cowboy hat!). "Out in the Street" featured cute mike-sharing, "Hungry Heart" was a pleasant surprise and got everyone singing along, "Seeds" was rocking as was the brilliant "Johnny 99" that works just as well backed with a band as an acoustic solo number. As I mentioned, Nils Lofgren played an incredible solo during the end of "The Ghost of Tom Joad", a fantastic song that was extremely powerful and fits the current state of things pretty well. "Raise Your Hand" featured some nice improv-style jamming from the band as Bruce went looking for song request signs; among the requests they played were such gems as "Because the Night" and "Thunder Road" (they didn't play the latter last time, so I thought I wouldn't get to hear it live, but now I have, so, again, my life is one step closer to complete). They also played a wonderfully energetic "Waitin' on a Sunny Day", one of the songs we had been hoping to hear, and the "Lonesome Day"/"The Rising"/"Born to Run" set before the encores was just as banging as last time. And as for the encores, they played no less than seven! I know, right? First was the cover of "Hard Times" they've been playing recently, and it was extremely beautiful, soaring and very topical. It was followed by an awesome "Bobby Jean", "Land of Hope and Dreams" (a new favourite of mine), the eternally excellent "American Land" (traditional show closer), and three extra encore numbers! First was "Glory Days", always a good choice, followed by the exclusive-to-Finland "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (Clarence did the wonderful Santa "ho-ho-ho" bit again, and Bruce even had a hat to suit the occasion!), and the whole show finally ended with a brilliantly chosen last song, "Dancing in the Dark", that got everybody joining in until the last minute.

All in all, this show was everything I hoped it would be and more. Hopefully there will be more chances to see Bruce and the gang again in the future, because everybody's right – once you see them live, you want to see them again and again and again! If I don't see the again, though, this gig allowed me to see them play one hell of a gig, and I couldn't have asked for any more. Thank you for existing, Bruce et al.!

(Another report on the show here on Backstreets.com!)

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I promise I'll update about the most recent of my purchases sometime soon. I also need to cover something I never thought I'd get to cover – I'm talking, of course, about the release of Neil Young's Archives Vol. 1, something I thought I'd never live to witness. Now I've seen everything! I even saw it in the shop today, and I've got to tell you, it was HUMONGOUS. (While googling "humongous" to make sure I'm not misspelling it, I came across this. You learn something new every day!) Gushing over the box set is sure to follow as soon as I actually get my hands on it! (Also, I'm more and more convinced that Fork in the Road is a damn masterpiece. I can't wait to compile this year's "albums of the year" list and enthuse about it some more!)

Tags: bruce springsteen, gigs, neil young

04:06 pm: all the survivors singing in the rain
Up next on my list of recently released albums I'm into: Fantasies by Metric. I was completely shocked when I unexpectedly came across Fantasies in a record shop – I had been prepared to be forced to order it from who knows where, and there it was on the shelf! To say I was pleasantly surprised is to put it extremely mildly.

But to the album itself! I've been waiting for this album like a fool since its first announced release date in last year's June. Turned out that the album wouldn't come out for almost another year, and having been forced to wait, my expectations grew. It's a good thing, then, that when the album finally was released, it turned out to be as good as it is! The sound of Fantasies is kind of closer to the older Metric stuff, like Grow Up and Blow Away or the EPs, but the mood is pretty similar to the previous album, Live It Out – kind of dark and cynical, but at the same time also kind of warm and naïve, both musically and lyrically. The songs still largely deal with loneliness, confusion and other such cheery themes, but I think the overall atmosphere is a little more optimistic than on Live It Out. There are strong electronic touches, mostly in the form of keyboards and drum beats and such, and I'm particularly fond of all the different keyboard sounds they use. The overall sound is kind of eighties in a Lost in Translation soundtrack kind of way, with a few straight-up stylish dancefloor tracks. The use of backing vocals is also very well thought out. Once again, Emily Haines sounds like a dream, but the whole band is in excellent shape, and the sound is very professional and together without becoming too polished for me.

(I've been thinking, and I've sort of reached the conclusion that musically, the eighties were kind of a practice run. The sound of authentic 80's synthesizers and drum machines and so forth usually doesn't really work – most drum machines, for example, are horrifying –, but newer music imitating the decade often makes the same elements sound really awesome. I kind of feel like they had a hunch of the potential they had, but the technology wasn't ready yet. Now that non-horrifying synthesizer and drum machine sounds actually exist, they can be used to create wonderful sounds – as witnessed on Fantasies. So I thank you, pioneers of the 80s, for not giving up even though your drum machines sounded, for the most part, horrible: you laid the foundations for the beautiful 80s-esque sound of today.)

It's difficult to choose the best tracks on Fantasies, because not one of them is bad, and most of them are rather excellent. The album opener and first single, "Help I'm Alive", got me hooked the first time I listened to the album. It's a dark and hypnotically repetitive track (and, in my opinion, somewhat reminiscent of Mylène Farmer's "Dégénération", which, incidentally, is also the first track and single of the album), and the hook ("beating like a hammer...") is amazingly haunting. This gem is followed by another masterpiece, "Sick Muse", an exceptionally well-crafted song lyrically and melody-wise as well as structurally (the "harmony in C" part in particular kills me for some reason), with a heartwrenchingly honest plead of a chorus. "Gold Guns Girls" is captivating and simultaneously frantic and detached, and makes me think of some film noir-type movie made in the 80s. This moody piece is followed by the delightfully bright and danceable "Gimme Sympathy", with a terrific build-up to the brilliant chorus (the end of which features some absolutely endearing synthesizers) and a definite Killers vibe all over. As I said, I don't think there are bad songs on the album at all, though. Even the couple of more down-tempo numbers that take a little longer to get into (such as "Twilight Galaxy" or "Blindness") turn out to be rather rich and charming in the end.

With only ten tracks, Fantasies definitely leaves the listener wanting more of the beautiful brilliance. It's a shame the album isn't longer, but I guess it's always better than to stuff the album with filler tracks. Fantasies sounds like a dream full of adventures, dark and warm and almost oppressing, but so fascinating and exciting that when you wake up, you wish you could have stayed in the world of the dream just a little longer, even if you were a little scared.

Tags: metric

11:19 pm: 'Tis the season to be... vision-y
You won't believe this: in addition to the album I already mentioned, I have another one I have to update about. They just keep on coming (not that I'm complaining!).

But first, something very topical and extremely important, by which I couldn't possibly mean anything other than the Eurovision Song Contest final on May 16th! One of my favourite annual events, during which almost all of Europe (plus some other random members of the European Broadcasting Union) come together to celebrate music, showmanship, and being European (or close enough, see previous brackets), in the gayest way imaginable! Who could ask for more?

This year, I hadn't heard any of the entries prior to the final, save Finland, which I think I've heard enough times to last me a lifetime. Watching the final, then, was both interesting and a pleasant surprise, because in my opinion, the quality of the songs this year was better than last year, for example. So maybe there weren't such instant classics as, say, "Secret Combination" this time (my GOD that's a quality song), and maybe the winner (Norway) wasn't my favourite – the song was not particularly memorable and quite out of tune, although the violin and the guys doing push-ups were random and amusing enough – , but I found several tunes I instantly liked and expect to grow even more fond of over time. These include:
- Patricia Kaas – "Et S'il Fallait le Faire" (France) – I like how beautifully traditional and quintessencially French this song sounds. It's actually nice to hear proper songs in the contest every once in a while. Also, I think French sounds rather lovely when sung.
- Yohanna – "Is It True?" (Iceland) – I'm usually not much for Eurovision ballads, but this song is just the right kind of schmaltzy-wistful to appeal to me on some strange and twisted level. And the girl is cute as a bug's ear.
- Malena Ernman – "La Voix" (Sweden) – I don't know why I even like this song, but the chorus reminds me of Plava Laguna's performance, which I guess is always a good thing.
- Hadise – "Düm Tek Tek" (Turkey) – a classic shake-shake tune that also happens to be really, really catchy, and the singer is obviously channelling Shakira with all her might.
- Flor de Lis – Todas as Ruas do Amor" (Portugal) – the song is really cute and cheerful, and I love how organic it is somehow. The band seems to be having fun onstage, and it's kind of contagious – and the singer is pretty cute!
- Niels Brinck – "Believe Again" (Denmark) – it comes as no surprise that this was co-written by Ronan Keating, as it sounds exactly like Ronan Keating. However, it's a nice and summery sing-along kind of tune, and a really well-written one at that.

...Plus extra recognition to Sakis Rouvas – "This Is Our Night" (Greece) for basically being everything I want from a Eurovision entry. The outfit! The choreography! The backing dancers! The way the guy seems so into it! The damn idiotic tune that gets stuck in your head forever! It's like all the pieces fall into place to form a beautiful piece of what this competition should always be about.

Once again, Eurovision has reminded me of how glad I should always be to be European. After all, we are the only ones who can truly be part of this beautiful event. So, now it's over, I'm left with another load of sweet and lovable kitsch to (hopefully) tide me over until the next batch in Norway this time next year. Can't wait!

Tags: eurovision

08:53 pm: old Cat Power and Classic Beck
(See, I'm totally getting back in the game!) Up next on my list of recently released albums I've been meaning to write about for ages: We Are the Same by the Tragically Hip. I didn't even know that they were releaseing a new album until I went to a record shop for a completely different CD a few weeks ago and almost dropped my eyes when I saw this on the shelf! Turns out it had only been released like a week or two before that. Of course, I had to get this one as well – I mean, it was such an unlikely thing to find in a record shop, it was like fate – even though I didn't have any idea what to expect. However, I'm happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised.

In some ways, We Are the Same is very much what you would expect the Hip to do – it definitely has the sound they've pretty much always had, and the songwriting isn't drastically different. It's basically pretty traditional rock music with some folk/blues/country influences and Gordon DownieNeil Young</b> album (which, incidentally, seems to be listed as a "frequently bought together" album on Amazon). Songs like "Coffee Girl", "Queen of the Furrows", "Speed River" and "Country Day" make me feel all summery just for the way they sound, all acoustic guitar and harmony and major, and even the three-piece epic, "The Depression Suite" ,isn't depressive at all, but actually quite introspective and beautiful. The lyrics are also in great shape: although they are still characteristically open for interpretation, I kind of think they're a little easier to get a hold of than on some of the earlier albums. Most of the songs seem to be about love or relationships in some way, but there's a lot of excellently insightful lines about life in general (like "Now the Struggle Has a Name" or "Froen in My Tracks", for example).The songs are actually quite accessible in general: the whole album is pretty catchy, and the songs work as pieces of music even if you don't concentrate on analysing the lyrics, whereas some of their older songs feel more like vehicles for the lyrics. The sound of the album is very pleasant – it's very much the classic Hip sound, but there's a bit of Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen and some fifties classics and stuff in there as well (and the backing vocals in "Country Day" really really really scream "Carpenters" to me – that might just be me, I don't know, but still). there's a lot of acoustic guitar and country/folky instruments, but also some wicked electric guitar solos, impressive orchestrations, beautiful piano parts and such. (Also, Kevin Hearn plays keyboards and accordion, and anything with Kevin Hearn is just that much better.)

My favourite songs include "Coffee Girl" (extremely sweet and pretty), "The Last Recluse" (grand and soaring), "Now the Struggle Has a Name" (builds up into a massive number with some of the most impressive Hip lyrics ever), "The Exact Feeling" (a really nice oldies feel, kind of like on Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream), "Frozen in My Tracks" (brilliantly dark and ominous), "Love Is a First" (yay for rant!Gord) and "Country Day" (light and summery and ends the album on a really note). I'm so happy with this album, and it's going to make excellent summer music.

(I just saw some review that called this the weakest ever Hip album by far. Whatever. I like it!)

Stay tuned for my thoughts on one more album!

Tags: the tragically hip

11:03 am: It's all about my car
I'm failing so much lately it's not even funny. Stuff that deserves to be updated about is piling up and if I'm ever going to get to it, I'm going to get started right now. This past year has been an unbelievably exhausting experience – I won't bore you with the details, but I'm seriously going to try and concentrate on getting better, and get back to updating boring stories about stuff no one else cares about in the process. Because it kind of really is my idea of fun!

So, first up on the list of piled-up things is the new Neil Young album, Fork in the Road. I of course, always expect a new Neil Young album to be good, but once again, he managed to catch me off guard. First of all, I only found out about the album a couple of weeks before it was released, so I didn't have time to form such elaborate expectations. Secondly, I didn't really know what to expect, what with the cars-running-on-alternative-energy theme, and, you know, this being Neil Young, so you never really know what to expect. After the album was released, I saw some reviews before I got a chance to listen to the album myself, and some seemed disappointed, so I was a little nervous. When I got my hands on the album, however, what I discovered was one of the best albums I've listened to in years. SERIOUSLY. While I can kind of sort of see how this wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, I'm completely sold. Neil's back in grunge-y, simplistic form reminiscent of Ragged Glory and at times Greendale, and mostly it's just bass, drums, amazing-sounding electric guitar and singing. There's one acoustic song with some lap steel guitar – apart form that, it's pretty straightforward and traditional rock'n'roll. All the more impressive, then, that the songs with their mostly very traditional structures and basic instrumental arrangements manage to sound so fresh and inspired. I'm amazed at how catchy and joyful these songs are, and the lyrics mix social commentary with everyday life in a relatable and touching way. Every song sounds like it was made because Neil and the band sincerely wanted to play it.

Among the tracks, there are several that I think will enter my Neil Young favourites category, but to mention a few, "When Worlds Collide" is such a solid and robust album opener (just listen to the riff!) it got me hooked right away. "Fuel Line" is incredibly catchy and swinging and has the most excellent buzzing guitars and backing vocals. "Just Singing a Song" is like an anthem with a twist, with its brilliantly sing-alongable and soaring quality in excellent contrast with the message (and it's also kind of special to me because the first time I heard it was at the concert I attended last summer, where I believe it was performed for the first time ). And I could go on all day about the structure of "Johnny Magic", the track telling the story that inspired the whole album, more specifically about how amazing it is. I remember Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara describing the structure she wanted for "Walking With a Ghost" as children skipping rope in pairs so that as one leaves, another comes along, and the ones skipping kind of overlap – and that sense of overlapping is what I get from the way the verses and parts A and B alternate in "Johnny Magic". The energy is infectuous, the backing vocals are sharp (and the "Johnny Magic" chant is nicely reminiscent of "Hey Hey My My"), and overall the song just radiates the joy of doing what you love this album is largely about. "Get Behind the Wheel" is a classic upbeat shuffle-y tune, with an amazingly simple riff that works incredibly well. Lastly, the acoustic number, "Light a Candle", is so delicate and touching it almost makes me want to cry – it could be from, like, Harvest Moon or Silver & Gold or something. The lap steel guitar is precious, and the whole song is just beautifully constructed.

Having picked out these highlights, as I said, I love the whole album from start to finish. And I love the videos shot with a handheld camera (on the Fork in the Road site linked above)! They're such a classic Neil thing to do it just warms my heart. I'd love to be able to attend a gig on this album's tour – I bet the songs are amazing live. Bah, I just love Neil Young so damn much I'm not sure I'm making it clear enough. So, to sum up, Fork in the Road rules!

Coming up: two more recently released albums I've been meaning to update about forever. I bet you're dizzy with suspense!

Tags: neil young

06:08 pm: Busy busy busy
Just a few notes in between pasivas reflejas and translation theories (and my head getting closer and closer to exploding)!

It brings me pain to hear that the Crash is quitting. I kind of saw it coming, as their singer/songwriter/guitarist has been a lot more preoccupied with other projects, like writing songs for others, for a while now, but still. They have a special place in my heart for being the only Finnish band I've ever really actually listened to, and I've always had a lot of sympathy towards them. I'm happy I got to see them live a couple of times (and their bass player once helped me with a friend's camera, even) – from now on, there's going to be even fewer bands I'm even remotely interested in ever performing anywhere within a reasonable distance. Not on! Anyway, all the best to all the members of the band – I hope they go on to do something good.

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On a happier note: I've unexpectedly come across not one, but two albums I've wanted for a while within the past couple of weeks. First, I was in a record shop, just browsing as usual, and in the "used CDs" section, what did I find? Why, the Tragically Hip's Phantom Power, an album I've been dreaming of getting forever but never seen anyplace accessible! Despite the unenthusiastic review on All Music Guide, I've been really interested in this particular album for ages (the songs I'd heard, particularly "Poets" and "Thompson Girl", have always been among my Hip favourites), and to find it in a local shop, for an extremely reasonable price, was definitely a pleasant surprise. And then only yesterday, while browsing the CD racks at a local department store's sales extravaganza, I stumbled upon Shakira's Fijación Oral Vol. 1! I've obviously made some progress with not caring how I'm perceived, as his time, I was almost not embarrassed at all to go up to the counter with a Shakira CD (she does have a certain cheesy MTV stigma attached to her, I'm afraid). Regardless, I'm very glad the album was on sale, so I finally got around to buying it – I love Shakira's knack for tunes and at times quite complex poetry, and she blends different styles in a brilliantly innovative way. I'm loving this album, and hoping one of these days I'll get my hands on ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? as well.

I've discovered the brilliance of a song I've never paid that much attention to before: "Word Up". It all started when I had the (beyond awesome) cover by the incomparable Don't Talk Dance persistently stuck in my head for a while. Shortly afterwards, I happened to hear what I assume was the Korn cover on the radio, and this coincidence prompted me to get hold of the original by Cameo. After finding it, I was so into it I also hunted down the Melanie G (better known as Mel B) version, which would be awesome for the fact alone that duh, Spice Girl, but is actually shamefully infectuous guilty pleasure bliss. Now I'm happily listening to three different versions and it's all good. This concludes today's pointless story, provided by yours truly!

I see Fork in the Road has been released. Hooray! I have to get it ASAP. Neil Young > most other things in life!

Tags: neil young, shakira, songs, the crash, the tragically hip

08:06 pm: Before the big metal door came crashing down
I have SO many things that I should have written about (for starters, Steve leaving Barenaked Ladies - WORLD OF NO), but I'm simply too busy with either failing at life or writing crap about trains and subjunctives to get anything worthwhile done. Apologies once again – I fully intend to get back on track sometime soonish.

Anyway, what I wanted to mention was that yay!, looks like Neil Young is releasing a new album called Fork in the Road in April! I only heard about it today when, quite uncharacteristically, listening to the radio – they played a song from the album called "Johnny Magic". Looks like most of the album is about cars, more specifically about gasoline-free cars. I love how Neil is so enthusiastic about things, and all this eco-friendly stuff really warms my heart. Also, obviously, NEW NEIL YOUNG ALBUM PARTY PARTY! (Doesn't seem like Archives is getting released anytime soon, though. Quelle surprise. Oh well, you can't have everything.)

Also, Flight of the Conchords is full of win. I loved season 1, but in my opinion, season 2 has been at least equally good. This week's song, "I Told You I Was Freaky" was awesome, but so far, my favourites this season have been "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor" (<3Dave!) and the beyond-epic "Hurt Feelings" ("I'm not gonna wear a ladies' wetsuit, I'm a man!"). And I SO want a "Boom King" T-shirt.

Tags: barenaked ladies, flight of the conchords, neil young

10:00 pm: Working on a Dream (finally)
A mix of being busy, feeling too guilty to waste time with free-time stuff while having real stuff to do and not having any motivation to do anything, and basically dealing with too much all at once is keeping me from updating as often as I'd like. I'll try to change my ways.

First, the new Bruce Springsteen album, Working on a Dream. I hate to be predictable, but AWESOME MUCH? I absolutely adore the retro feel of the whole thing, and the mix of different kinds of America-romanticism, Woody Guthrie at times ("Outlaw Pete") and soda bars and convertibles at others ("This Life"), is incredibly charming. I certainly enjoy my angst, but sometimes, it's so refreshing to hear something this sunny and optimistic – especially after Magic that had quite a dark undertone (I loved it to bits and still do, but you know, a little change). There's a lot of variety – classic rocking Springsteen tracks, sunny pop, country-tinged Supernatural-style tunes ("Supernatural" so is a music genre for me), really subdued introspection, sprinkled with a ton of influences from all over on top. As reviews have been saying, it's quite fitting that the album came out around the same time Obama became president; I think it reflects the current general spirit of hope and change and all that pretty well. Of course the songs are not sunshine, lollipops and rainbows or anything like that, and some of them are rather sad ("The Last Carnival", dedicated to the late Danny Federici, for example), but the overall mood is definitely lighter and more hopeful than on the last album. It definitely sounds like they were having fun making the album. (I'm so happy the E Street Band's been on both of the most recent albums, by the way – it always warms my heart so when they work together!) For me, current standouts include the epic album opener "Outlaw Pete" (so massive and innovative), "My Lucky Day" (uplifting and reminiscent of some of the older albums – almost The River, even?), "Queen of the Supermarket" (clever combination of the whole supermarket culture and a sweet love story, with the cutest retro backing vocals and a brilliant, almost Aimee Mann or Michael Penn-esque ending), "This Life" (gorgeously retro with beautiful keyboards and ingenious 60s-style chord changes and backing vocals), "Good Eye" (bluesy Tom Waitsy goodness), "The Last Carnival" (unbelievably beautiful and reminding me of Devils & Dust), and "The Wrestler" (some of the most touching lyrics ever, the lack of Oscar nom is ridiculous. Also, sidenote: The Wrestler was a stunning movie, and did it really really remind anyone else of the general cast of characters in Aimee Mann songs from, like, Lost in Space onwards?) To sum up, I find Working on a Dream excellent and generally uplifting, and warmly recommend it. Springsteen forever. <3

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Then, I also actually got around to getting the Bloc Party album Intimacy I was planning on getting, but due to stupid era of Franco and noun phrases and relevance theory and whatnot, I simply don't have time to share my thoughts on it right now. Another time, hm?

Tags: bruce springsteen

08:10 pm: I'm so British
I've been grossly neglecting my journal lately – partly due to studies, partly to being a big ole can o' crazy. Great story for another day! Anyhoo, I'm seriously contemplating getting two new(/ish) albums:

1. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. The first Franz Ferdinand album is where it's at, and the second one is pretty good as well. However, I haven't really been keeping tabs on them lately, so when I recently read an interview with their drummer (again, in Sue – I'm so stingy I get all my news from free mags), it was pretty much the first I'd read about them in a while. It was a very nice interview, and it made the album sound really interesting and refreshing. I'm kind of in the mood for something danceable and innovative, so I think I might actually go ahead and order it.

2. Bloc Party – Intimacy. As I mentioned earlier, I'm getting more and more into Bloc Party lately – their mix of raw grittiness and electronic cool appeals to me immensely – and this album seems fascinating (from Wikipedia: "Musically, the album combines the jittery rock of Silent Alarm with the fuller soundscapes of A Weekend in the City [...]" – hell yes). So, if I actually do get around to ordering stuff, chances are I'll order this as well!

I'm really happy that not only have I found something new to listen to again, but that I'm also listening to a bit more British music. I sometimes feel a little guilty for favouring the new continent over Europe so much (though, to be fair, no one could really truly compete with Canada. Still!).

In other news, in addition to being really excited about the new Bruce Springsteen album, Working on a Dream, which I've heard very good things about (I decided not to listen to it until I get home where my dad has it – TOUGH!), I just found out I'm going to BLOODY SEE BRUCE BLOODY SPRINGSTEEN AGAIN IN JUNE. Umm, OMG WTF YAY much? RIGHT?

Tags: bloc party, bruce springsteen, franz ferdinand

02:33 pm: 2008
As 2008 is drawing to a close, it feels appropriate to attempt some sort of a "best of" recap. This was actually a good year in my kind of music – surprisingly many of my favourites released a new album. Under the cut is a list of ten of my favourite releases of 2008, and a few comments on them. I think I'm going to post a couple of my favourite tracks from each one in a friends-locked post in my other journal, so if you want them, give me a holler and I'll provide. (So, I'm a little paranoid about public file-sharing.)

( Top 10 of 2008! )
Albums I'm looking forward to in 2009:

- Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream (January 27th)
- Neil Young: The Archives Vol. 1 (February 24th – I reallyreallyREALLY want it to be true this time)
- Vienna Teng: Inland Territory (April 7th, and I honestly can't wait)
- Metric: [TBA] ("early 2009" – I hope it's for real this time!)
- Shakira: [TBA] ("spring 2009")

(...Also, I wouldn't mind one bit if Michael Penn released a new album! The last one was in 2005, and that's a shame.)

So, a good year, at least tune-wise. I hope 2009 turns out good as well!

Tags: lists, new year

07:05 pm: lol randomness
A couple of days back, I picked up a free music publication (Sue), because I was interested in their end-of-year album lists. But alas!, their lists hardly included anything even remotely of interest to me, except for Coldplay, Ladytron and Bloc Party. (And I haven't even listened to the last two – but Ladytron is usually pretty sweet, and I think I'm totally getting into Bloc Party. A Weekend in the City wins. My internal musical clock seems to be about two or three years behind the rest of the world.) The top 5 foreign albums based on the top 5 lists of the magazine's critics were Portishead's Third, Airbourne's Runnin' Wild, Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Duffy's Rockferry, and The Hellacopters' Head Off – with the exception of Coldplay, not a single album that I own was included in the list of a single critic. (I'm not even going to go into their domestic albums lists, because lol, that's something I'm not qualified to say anything about.)

Getting the magazine wasn't a complete waste, though: I learned a few things reading the news section (I've been living in a vacuum lately, not bothering to keep up with anything, for which I'm ashamed). For example, Simple Plan is making a music video featuring cancer survivors. Now, I'm not going to comment on the the band's music, but one of the people on the video is Kevin Hearn, and for that, Simple Plan earn a few points! Yay for Kevin Hearn forever <3 I also read that Ladytron is going to perform at one of the upcoming summer's festivals, something I find somewhat interesting. I really hope the performers in general are going to be interesting next summer.

One more musical thing that's caught my eye (or ear) recently: I was in a record shop a while back, and the album playing in the background was just captivating; it turned out to be Mark Olson and Gary Louris. A sticker on the album cover informed me that they were the frontmen of the Jayhawks, but this album appealed to me much more than anything I've ever heard by the Jayhawks. It was kind of like Simon and Garfunkel, but with a touch of California, and I don't know, warm and dreamy and lovely. I dislike the term "alt-country", but I guess it was a bit of what is usually filed under that label as well. Whatever it was, it was absolutely beautiful. Who knows, I might actually get it after Christmas. Hooray for finding something new for a change again – I'm really starting to feel kind of bad thinking about all the great music that is out there and me just sitting here listening to my artists and not making any effort to try and broaden my horizons. It appears you can feel guilty over just about anything.

Finally, my own awesome "Albums of 2008" list is almost ready, and will most likely be made public sometime between Christmas and New Year's. Please try to remain calm.

Tags: kevin hearn, lists, random

10:09 pm: !!!
I really have no time to update, but this just completely blindsighted me, so I had to open up!

"Springsteen's new album 'Working on a Dream' has been set for January 27 release on Columbia Records. 'Working on a Dream' was recorded with the E Street Band and features twelve new Springsteen compositions plus one bonus track. It is the fourth collaboration between Springsteen and Brendan O'Brien, who produced and mixed the album."

WHAT! Since WHEN! What WHAT! I'm so dumbstruck – in pretty much the best way possible, but STILL! Why did I not know this?!

Also, if you're reading this on Nov 24th, go to BruceSpringsteen.net and get "Working On a Dream" for free. AWESOME.

Tags: bruce springsteen, mp3

08:46 pm: randomness
Dear Americans, may I just congratulate you on the decision you made last Tuesday. Last time around, I was left a little... disgruntled by the results (to say the least), so it was an enormous relief to hear some good news for a change. I'm just looking forward to Bruce Springsteen updating on the subject, after this rally speech. It was just so damn powerful and inspirational it made me feel like moving mountains and changing the course of history. So, overall, good job, people!

I'm really excited about the new Neil Young Performance Series release, Sugar Mountain - Live At Canterbury House 1968 being out in a few weeks! Of course, I'd be even more excited about the damn Archives, but I seriously don't know if that's ever going to happen. Now they have a release date in January, but I think Archives have had more release dates than I've had birthdays (the site above says "Coming in 2007"), so it remains to be seen what happens in January. The trailer on the Reprise site is so exciting, though!

This article happened to catch my attention: New Yorkers trying to save historic Tin Pan Alley. I used to be quite into that stuff in my early teens, which probably made me notice the piece in the first place, but I think it's a shame that historical buildings in general are being torn down to build high rises. Of course it can be justified by a number of reasons, but it still seems shortsighted to destroy pieces of history. It's not like you can ever get them back. I don't know, almost all of the pretty old buildings in my hometown were torn down in the seventies to build ugly apartment buildings, so I guess I'm a little bitter. Anyway.

My last.fm has registered 1000 plays for Chris Brown & Kate Fenner. This makes me feel good about myself.

Tags: bruce springsteen, chris brown & kate fenner, lol politics, neil young

06:44 pm: No tricks but some treats
In case anyone needs further proof that Bruce Springsteen rules: a new song called "A Night With the Jersey Devil" (video & free mp3). A Halloween song! I mean, yay! I'm very much into the whole kind of dark, blues-y, olden-time-meets-the-present aesthetic (cough Supernatural cough), and this song captures that particular atmosphere extremely well. It's about the legend of the Jersey Devil (lyrics here), and it's so grainy and blues and Supernatural and Tom Waits and brilliant that I can hardly contain my enthusiasm! I also think it's amazing that he actually does things like this (quoting from ONTD):

"Unbeknownst to most, Bruce Springsteen is actually quite the Halloween fan. Each October, the Boss and his wife/bandmate Patti Scialfa traditionally open their New Jersey property so visitors can see their mansion-size Halloween display."

How sweet is that! Unfortunately, they were unable to do that this year because of too many visitors (really, who can blame all those folks for wanting to get into the bloody SPRINGSTEEN RESIDENCE), but on the plus side, we got this brilliant song that even us poor souls that couldn't go and see their decorations anyway can enjoy! Get the song and watch the (REALLY REALLY WICKED COOL) video, both are well worth it! Springsteen is our king <3

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Another topical song, albeit released in 2005: "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" It's a parody/charity song recorded by a bunch of cool people, like Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of the Arcade Fire, David Cross, Feist, Peaches and many others, and it both pokes fun at the Western-centric, condescending attitude of, uh, certain other charity songs, and collects money for UNICEF. Good idea and clever song.

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I was watching Doctor Who and there was this actress (Claire Rushbrook) that looked really really familiar, but I couldn't place her for the life of me. When I went to check her IMDb profile, I realised it was Deborah from Spice World! I don't know whether I should feel bad about myself. I choose not to.

(I'm so obsessed with Emm Gryner right now, especially her Girl Versions covers. I love her original songs as well, but boy, she makes these songs completely her own. Most of the original versions actually pale in comparison. Emm-pressive! ♥ )

Tags: bruce springsteen, emm gryner, holidays, mp3

07:18 pm: a bit more Mylène & TV
One more Mylène Farmer video: her interview from this August. She gives about one interview every five years or something, so it's always kind of special to see her speak. I'm always amazed at how she's such a hot hot hottie on all her albums and videos, and when she speaks, she's so elegant and sweet and subdued. (I'm falling more and more in love with Point de Suture, btw - it's addictive and absolutely amazing. Très magnifique!)

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Another Supernatural treat: "Eye of the Tiger". From episode 4x06, but doesn't spoil anything apart from the fact that Dean/Jensen continues to win at life. My GOD I love Supernatural. I don't even care that some laugh, because frankly, it's their loss.

While the latest Supernatural ruled, I had endless problems with last week's House (5x05). I've been pretty neutral towards Thirteen, but come ON, they're turning her into such a Mary Sue (now with added random zomghot girl-on-girl action!) that I feel like I have no choice but to join the haters (and the episode was especially disappointing after the stellar winfest that was 5x04). However, there was something really good in it - the song "Cheap and Cheerful" by The Kills. I've never listened to The Kills, and I'm not sure why because I've been meaning to for ages, but after hearing a tiny snippet of the song in the beginning of the episode, I had it stuck in my head for the entire week, and in the end I had to get it. It's really good in a weird, twitchy way, and just the right mix of organic and metallic for me to like it. And I love the percussion! Here's the video:
I want you to be crazy 'cause you're boring baby when you're straight!

Tags: mylène farmer, tv

12:38 am: tous les points de suture du monde ne pourront me recoudre
I'm home for the autumn holiday, and today I went to my favourite record shop. What did I find? Why, the latest Mylène Farmer album, Point de Suture! I was surprised to say the least - I never expected to find it in a local shop! I had to splurge and get it, even despite my student's budget and all that, because come on.

I have to say that before listening to it, I was a little worried for two reasons. One: I'd read that this album features more electronic influences than the previous ones, and electronic influences are a really tough field - the results can be absolutely sublime, or they can make your ears bleed. Two: this? Is one scary-ass album cover. Seriously! Her imagery's often pretty disturbing, but dude. I was genuinely concerned about the sound of an album looking like this being something altogether too unsettling. However, I'm happy to say that I think this is one stylish album! The reviews have been mixed, but I'm definitely a fan. The electronic stuff is done just right, with little flourishes and classy backgrounds à la "Aime" and "L'Âme-Stram-Gram" from her previous albums, Avant Que L'Ombre and Innamoramento. Mylène's voice sounds softer and better than ever (and it was pretty good to begin with), and the songs are really catchy and, not surprisingly, hot hot hot. "Dégénération" and "Sextonik" are excellent examples of her amazing, hypnotic, magical, chant-like tracks (the video for "Dégénération" behind the link is a little disturbing, with Mylène's sexy basically turning a scientific experiment into a big orgy or something, but at the same time, it's visually really fascinating), "Appelle Mon Numéro" is absolutely beautiful (as is the video behind the link), "Paradis Inanimé" is extremely catchy and melancholy in a way that reminds me of Hawksley Workman's "No Stillness and No Rain", and "Reveiller le Monde" and "C'Est Dans l'Air" are strangely bleak and uplifting at the same time. "Looking for My Name", her second duet with Moby (the first being the blissful "Crier la Vie"), is also amazing. (There was supposed to be a duet with DAVID BOWIE on the album, btw, but it had to be cancelled because of Bowie's health problems. The almost-existence of such an awesomefest makes me feel kind of dizzy.)

To conclude, this is a brilliant, stylish album, and I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in Mylène Farmer's special brand of artsy, sexy pop - I even think I would have been completely sold if this had been the first album I'd ever listened to by her. Excellent work all round. (And may I also take this opportunity to point out the foxy in the liner notes. I'm in awe.)

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I was watching Project Runway (again) the other day, and one of the fourth season designers made me go !!!, because she (Simone Le Blanc) bore such a resemblance to my hero and, like, one of the top five most amazing women in the history of ever or something, Kate Fenner.

( Look! )

Right? I don't know, I thought it was cool! I can't fully express how much I love Kate Fenner. (And Project Runway! It's so much fun!)

Tags: kate fenner, mylène farmer

07:17 pm: Nays and yays
The world hates me. Aimee Mann is coming to Stockholm, which, while practically next door on a global scale, is too far away both logistically and time-consuming...ingly, and November 10th is too Tuesday, which is when I'm learning all about comma rules and the significance of connotations in translations. The proportions in which this sucks are immense. I'm just going to stay in and listen to Lost in Space and mope that whole night or something!

Luckily, though, I had a pleasant surprise earlier this week, when I went to my Gramática class and my teacher started the lesson by demonstrating the use of adjectives with an article on my wife - and such a delightful article at that! Every time I think she can't get any more awesome, she bloody well does! (Seriously, I'll stop going on about her when she stops constantly winning at life.) (I'm kind of simultaneously feeling sorry and laughing at the poor Republicans, by the way - once again, all the cool kids are supporting the Democrats, and the Republicans have, like, Heidi Montag. Excuse me, but LOL.)

I went to participate in the local department store's biannual sales madness again today, and ended up buying two things: one of them was the eponymous album by Crazy Horse (the other was a packet of mac & cheese, in case you're interested - I'm a BNL fan who's never had mac & cheese, which just shouldn't be). I've heard so much praise for it I expected it to be good, and the fuss is certainly justified. I completely see why everyone makes such a big deal about Danny Whitten (judging by the talent, the poor guy certainly would have had a bright future ahead of him), and it warms my heart to listen to the "vintage" lineup (Whitten, Molina & Talbot) as well as Jack Nitzsche, who's pretty excellent, and Nils Lofgren, who rules. The songs are consistently good, and the quality of the sound is really high. And "Dance, Dance, Dance" is eternally awesome (NEIL YOUNG FTMFW). So, I got good value for my money!

(On my way downtown I ran into these huge tour buses and tons of teenagers dressed in black basically on my backyard, in front of this exhibition centre or whatever. I figured there was some sort of a gig tonight, and now that I checked, it turns out it's The Rasmus. What do you know.)

Tags: aimee mann, crazy horse, shakira, the rasmus

08:02 pm: Pointless whining, T&S greatness & Steve
AAAAAAA! I found a downside about the new iTunes update! Looks like all of my precious trimmed mp3s display their duration as the original duration of the whole track as it was before trimming! For example, Mylène Farmer's "Nobody Knows" was originally a hidden track in the end of "Et Pourtant", and their duration put together was 10:13. After I separated them and cut out the empty bit betwee them, their durations were around 4 and 5 minutes, respectively. But now, they BOTH display their duration as 10:13! iTunes PLAYS them correctly, which is to say, it stops playing at around the time the song is over, but it still LOOKS LIKE they both last for 10 minutes, which is completely untrue and it's driving me out of my mind! And every last one of my separated tracks now look like this. Retrimming them doesn't help, and I can't think of anything that would. What's really frustrating is that it's nothing but an aesthetic nuisance, i.e. it affects the technical listenability of the songs in absolutely no way, but it drives me INSANE to listen to these tracks knowing that their durations look like crap and there's nothing I can do! And they're messing with my "Long tracks with the highest play count" Smart Playlist by looking like long tracks when they're really not! This is a genuine, legitimate problem, I'm telling you. Messing with a person's iTunes library is srs bsns, especially when said person is as obsessive about song durations as, say, me. Moz condemns this almost as much as I do.

But, on to happier things! is about as late as late can be, but how awesome is the new Tegan and Sara video for "Call It Off" (I recommend watching in high quality)? The song is one of my (many) favourites from The Con, and it's great that they decided to make a video for it. Their videos are always somewhat confusing, but I really like the look they're going for. And of course, they're so damn CUTE! (There's this girl in a couple of my classes who has hair just like Sara's [on the left] a while back, and she actually kind of slightly looks like them as well, and I'm always just captivated by it.)

Finally, the end of Steve's latest BNL blog entry made me happy. No matter what, Steven Page remains one of my heroes, and I sincerely wish him all the best and that he'd get through all the personal stuff that's been up lately and such. Steve, you are my biggest fan.

Oh, and one more thing. The incredible fantasticness that is these Xu/Quistis fanfics (that I know I've advertised before but that's how good they are) finally made me check out the band whose songs are cited as inspiration for several of the fics, Hefner. Their Wikipedia page describes them as "indie rock/urban folk" - I don't know about genres, but it sort of reminds me of acoustic guitar-driven Ben Folds Five -or the Thrills -type thing or something, or the few Bluetones songs I know, or Sean Hayes, or something. Whatever, it's acoustic and sweet and I like it. "The Hymn for the Cigarettes", inspiration for the fic of the same name (one of my favourites!), is pretty brilliant. I approve!

Tags: barenaked ladies, hefner, itunes, steven page, tegan and sara

08:27 pm: "Genius" isn't an overstatement
A few days back, I ran a Software Update on my computer, and I was thrilled to find that one of the updates was for iTunes. I'm always extremely excited about iTunes updates (why yes, I AM aware of how lame that is), and this time, it was even more exciting because it was for a whole new version of iTunes, 8.0! Hooray! So far, I've been endlessly happy with it - and I have to tell you, I'm loving the new "Genius" feature! Basically, what it's about is that you choose a song in your library, and, using the iTunes Music Store as a source of information (I assume), the Genius creates a playlist of similar songs for that track. It also recommends you songs you don't yet have in your library in the Music Store. I'm sure it uses the information it gathers from my library for some sort of evil marketing purposes or whatever, but I don't really mind since I'm such a big fan of this feature. For a categorising nut such as myself (Smart Playlists are better than Disneyland, I swear), a feature that creates compatible playlists is so much fun I can't even begin to describe it. Here's a couple of examples of what it's created for me:

Aimee Mann
Kaki King
Rheostatics
Vienna Teng
Led Zeppelin
Cibo Matto

It's a little funny how I own less than ten Rachael Yamagata and Arcade Fire songs combined, and it still offers them for every list. Still, this is an amazing feature, and I'll be sure to use it relentlessly in the future. Yay for iTunes!

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I was just checking Wikipedia for news about my musicians releasing new stuff (so far, no release date for Vienna Teng, which makes my heart weep), and on Shakira's page, I stumbled upon this:

Shakira is intensely interested in world history. She frequently studies the history and languages of the countries she visits. After her Oral Fixation tour ended in summer 2007, Shakira audited a class in Los Angeles at UCLA, on the History of Western Civilization. She used her middle and last names, Isabel Mebarak, and told the professor she was visiting from Colombia so as to avoid being recognized as a celebrity.

WOW. If that's true... DUDE. I would just DIE. Until I was completely DEAD. Seriously. And I thought I couldn't love her any more than after seeing this! She's just pretty much my ideal human being, it's ridiculous.

Tags: itunes, shakira