Sunday, August 31, 2008

A To Z: R - Raindance by Gryphon



AMG has this album rated at 1.5 stars. Really. Check it out here.

Yes it's not the best album that Gryphon put out, but it's not bad. It's a delightful little prog rock album, steeped in the keyboard flourishes and a krauty, droning sound. It catches a lot of flack because it is definitely different than Gryphon's albums before this, which were sort of like really nerdy medieval folk prog pieces, which are a lot of fun in their own right. However, the variety on Raindance is why I like it.

Track 2, "Raindance" is basically just a 5-minute interpretation of falling rain, simulated by a keyboard, and that is followed by the great Lennon/McCartney song "Mother Nature's Son"...here done in a bit of a more 70s, folk rock manner. Immediately following that is "Le Cambrioleur Est Dans Le Mouchoir" which sounds like the soundtrack to some funny movie from the 30s. And the next song sounds like it should open up a PBS special or something.

Listen, it's not the best album, but it's an enjoyable listen with lots of variety in the sound. At the very least, you should download this album for the closing track "(Ein Klein) Heldenleben" which is 15+ minutes of Prog gloriousness.

It's not a challenging listen, but it's fun for sure.

RYM Reviews
Prog Archives Review

Download Here

Monday, August 18, 2008

Tenner's: De La Soul



On a music message board I frequent, many of the participants have been making "tenners" over the last few weeks. What this means is that the members choose an artist that they really enjoy and choose ten tracks to make a mix. Many choose their ten favorite tracks and many opt for nice overview of the artist. It's a great concept to expose people to artists and I've made one for De La Soul: one of the most consistently great hip hop groups (if not the single most consistent) there is. It's not tagged really, but here is the tracklist and you can make the playlist if you wish. I think the "tenner" will be an addition to this blog.

1. Buddy (Three Feet High And Rising)
2. Held Down Ft. Cee-Lo (AOI: Bionix)
3. What's That? (Que Eso) Ft. Mos Def (Tony Touch Presents: The Piece Maker)
4. Copa (Cabanga)(Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump)
5. Three Days Later (Buhloone Mindstate)
6. It's A New Thing (It's Your Thing) (Isley Brothers: Taken To The Next Phase)
7. Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) (De La Soul Is Dead)
8. Itsoweezee (Hot) (Stakes Is High)
9. Freestyle (Dat Shit) 2006 (The Impossible Mission)
10. The Grind Date (The Grind Date)

Download Here:
De La Soul Tenner

the summer of 2008.



I haven't posted in about 3 months. On June 2nd, I started my last summer at Camp Westwind. It was a summer, alright. My musical creations were minimal, but I did make a couple mixes worth posting. This is a request from a couple of the graduating teen campers and my co-workers. It's the "2008 Summer Jams" mix I created, featuring only songs from this year that are playable in settings with kids. It's real good.

Tracklist:
1. koushik - lying in the sun
2. sigur ros - Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
3. air france - no excuses
4. shout out louds - impossible (studio remix)
5. moscow olympics - ocean sign
6. vetiver - the swimming song
7. lykke li - a little bit
8. animal collective - water curses
9. brendan canning (broken social scene) - hit the wall
10. women - group transport hall
11. the dodos - ashley
12. stephen malkmus & the jicks - gardenia
13. vampire weekend - m79
14. fleet foxes - heard them stirring
15. david vandervelde - california breezes
16. dr. dog - from

It's nice. Summer is almost over. Enjoy. I'll get back to posting pretty regularly soon, I think.

Download Here:
2008 Summer Jams