This week's list:
1. Matt Pond PA, Winter Songs
2. Pat McGee Band, Shine
3. Jamiroquai, Emergency on Planet Earth
4. Maroon 5, Songs About Jane
5. Rooney, Rooney
This seemed the be the week of the busted jewel cases. A couple of the cases had the bottom latch broken off, so as soon as I opened them up, the top of the case just came right off. I know I have a handful of cases that are like that, and I wish I knew exactly how that happened. I thought it interesting that I got multiple cases like that in one week. On top of that, I still haven't had to replace the batteries in the portable player. I'll admit, I didn't use it a lot this week, but I did use it multiple days, and the batteries are still kickin'. Good job, portable!
And now, the music!
Emergency on Planet Earth, the other half of the double-disc set I picked up in college, is probably my least favorite of Jamiroquai's albums, but that doesn't mean that I don't still really like it. I think when I listen to it I get the vibe that I should be watching some episodes of The Cosby Show. There's just something to the early 90s funkiness of it that makes me thing that the Coz would be a fan of listening to the album while wearing a crazy sweater and enjoying a Jell-O Pudding Pop (Lord I miss those things, especially the swirl!). It's got some great songs, my favorite of which is "Blow Your Mind", but when I compare it to the other Jamiroquai albums I own, it doesn't quite match up. I'm still happy that I got it when I did, and I do listen to songs from it periodically, but it's rare for me to listen to the whole album.
I remember when I first heard Rooney back in 2003 or 2004, my initial thought after listening to their first single, "Blue Side", was, "Oh my God, they're the unholy love child of Weezer and the Beach Boys!" Listening to the entire album only amplified those feelings. They nail the sound of California rock, and the lyrics to the songs all deal with relationships in a way that reminds me ever so slightly of Pinkerton. I used to listen to this on the portable all the time on my commute to the studio back in the days of my internship. Back when I was taking the train every day pre-iPod, I brought along with me a small case with five or six CDs, so I'd cycle through a group every week or so, but I'd usually wind up listening to the same CD multiple times in that period. I have really strong memories of smiling while listening to this CD as I watched Philadelphia go by on the train, and I always thought it was great for sunny days. The music is super poppy and just perfect for a day when the sun is out in force.
Perfect for a day when you want to curl up with a blanket on a cold day is Matt Pond PA's Winter Songs, a collection of original and cover songs that really could be the soundtrack to the days when there's a chill in the air and some snow on the ground. The EP has covers of songs by Lindsey Buckingham, Neil Young, and even Neutral Milk Hotel. I love that they covered "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"--it's one of my favorite Neutral Milk Hotel songs, and what the band did with it was fantastic. I think that was one of the reasons I bought the CD in the first place.
I remember listening to Songs About Jane when I first got it and thinking, "Eh, it's alright." It wasn't one of the albums that I fell in love with right out of the gate. It took a few spins in the CD player for me to get into it at all, and slowly I began to think that it was a little bit better than my first impressions let on. Of course, there were a few radio hits from the album -- "Harder to Breathe" and "This Love" became pretty popular in 2004, and, from the tales I've heard, were actually the last two songs added to the album. I think my favorite of the album became "Sunday Morning", which I know I added to a mix CD or two I made for friends, because I loved the upbeat vibe of it, and it made me want to dance around. When I was listening to the album at work, I found myself singing along to the songs under my breath--something that happened a few times this week. Again, I'm amazed by how, while it may have been a while between times I've listened to an album, I can still recall and start singing along with 85-90% of the songs I hear. It's funny how much recall for music is in your head, only to be brought out at the time when the song triggers the memory.
I saved the best story for last. I was happy when I pulled out Pat McGee's Shine, because the couple autographs on the cover reminded me of the day that I got those autographs. First, a little backstory: The first time I heard the Pat McGee Band was in 2000 while I was DJing on 92 WICB, and "Runaway" was on my playlist for one of my shows. One of the other DJs was in the room at the time and said he thought the band was going to go somewhere. I thought so too--there's a good mix of solid Southern rock and great harmonies in the songs on the album, and "Runaway" was just the right poppy tune to put out first. I thought my friend Meg would be into the band too, so as a way to celebrate her birthday I bought tickets for the Pat McGee Band's concert at the TLA. We got down there in time to hear the opener, a little band out of Richmond called Carbon Leaf (which you'll see plenty about in the future, *wink*), and we quickly fell in love with their sound. When Pat and Band got on, though, the crowd was bigger, and we wound up getting a decent place to stand and watch everything only a few rows of people back from the stage. They played a lot of songs off the album, and some from earlier ones I didn't know--seemed like there was a lot of people in the crowd who must've gone to see them a lot. Anyway, after the set the band came out to play an encore, and, to my delight, they decided to play "Rebecca", the second track on the album, which was also my favorite song. In the middle of the song the band started jamming out, and Pat and the sax player left the stage. Meg and I weren't quite sure where they went but figured they were heading into the crowd. What we weren't expecting was for them to go out into the crowd...right behind us! We turned around, and there they were. Suddenly everyone who was in front of us facing the stage were now behind us and trying to rush the performers. We didn't want to get pushed into Pat while he played, clearly, so we had to go along with the people around us who were jumping up and down. Somehow I managed to hook my arms onto the shoulders on a couple people around us and tried to jump in time with them so I wouldn't get knocked over. I'm pretty sure that I must've jumped on someone's foot. Meg got knocked in the head with somebody's arm. Even still, after they went back up on stage, Meg and I looked at each other and said, "THAT was cool!" It definitely made the night memorable, and following the show we were able to get some autographs from the band members hanging out in the vestibule--not such a bad way to end a good night!
That wraps up another week. I wanted to thank everyone who's been reading so far. I've gotten a lot of positive support over the past five weeks, which is great because it keeps me going. I hope it's been enjoyable to read so far, and I'm excited to see what happens in the coming weeks. Until next week, happy listening!
Total battery sets used: Still 4! Awesome!
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