Woo! Made it back up to the two-mile distance in running yesterday! :) Not as fast as last fall, but.. at least I am going the distance, as they say. Now go work on the speed, old man. ;)
Well, it's time to post a few more reviews, I guess. I have a driving trip to KC coming up Sunday/Monday where I'll have a chance to sample a few more, plus after that a run to Milwaukee for an MU game and more music to listen to en route, so.. don't want to get backed up and behind!
KT Tunstall - "Eye to the Telescope", "Drastic Fantastic", "Acoustic Extravaganza": Oooh, my new favorite girl singer. For this month, anyway. :) She has a distinct country flair on many songs, not unlike Neko Case or Rilo Kiley, but is still definitely mainstream alternative (read: pop) and getting moreso with each CD release. "Drastic Fantastic" is her latest, and the most pop-py of the bunch, although I think that two of her best songs are from the prior, less-produced CD, "Eye ...", namely Suddenly I See, and Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. "Acoustic Extravaganza" is kind of a collection of B-sides and outtakes and a few songs that didn't make the cut for her first release. Only Miniature Disasters and Universe and U are redundant.
So, besides Suddely I See and Black Horse, my other favorites are: every single track on Eye. Great, great, album. :) As to the other two CDs, I like (from Drastic): White Bird, Someday Soon, Saving My Face, Little Favours, I Don't Want You Now, Hopeless, and (from Extravaganza) Throw Me A Rope, Gone to the Dogs, Girl and Ghost, Change. Not as strong as "Eye", but still thumbs up.
Kid Beyond - "Amplivate": This one's fun. It's really little more than an EP, with lots of remixes. But kind of neat. Electronic, and DJ/house, but.. with widely different vocal styles on the looping parts, sort of like Moby does. I just love the track "I Shall Be Free" which sort of tells a story of a mysterious stranger of the Caine variety on "Kung Fu". Mothership is just plain fun. Wandering Stars is a good track, too, just darker and minor keyed. I guess I'd just recommend downloading the originals and skip all the remixes.. I never do think they add much. But that's my bias. ;) One thumb up. Two thumbs, if it were more than just 4 original tracks.
Temposhark - "It's Better To Have Loved - EP": A little alternative shortie, just 4 tracks, one of which is a remix. But decent, nonetheless. Despite being mostly a slow loop, Invisible Ink is contemplative and good. The title track is easy to listen to, with a plaintive vocal that really comes off more like an unanswered question than a statement. The track "Not That Big" is the only real uptempo one; it kind of reminds me of Propellerheads, though I'm not sure why. It's probably not what they intended. :) Two thumbs up for this little EP.
Tori Amos - "Little Earthquakes", "The Beekeeper": The first one's so old, it almost could have made it into the prior music review of 80's bands: 1992! But again, to me.. she's new. And if I wouldn't have heard Fiona Apple first, I might have said Tori sounds like Fiona.. but I think it's really the other way around. Earnest, honest (brutally so), poignant, dark, strong. Quite an album. I have a feeling that this girl was a trailblazer back in the day, and that a lot of girl piano-playing singer/songwriters followed her lead. Maybe like PJ Harvey..
Liked it so much I went down to my local "Cheapo Discs" store to see what I could find of hers used. For $2.98 I got her 19 track autobiographical CD "The Beekeeper". Hm. Interesting. Much more mellow CD than "Little Earthquakes"; of course, she's quite a few years older on this one. I've heard that some people do tend to mellow out with age. Really? ;)
Not too many I can really call favorites on either CD, since they are so darned intense. She pulls no punches, minces no words. (ex's: Me and a Gun, Crucify, Precious Things, Barons of Suburbia.) But some are easier to listen to than others - I suppose they could qualify. :) So, from "Beekeeper": Martha's Foolish Ginger (it's the name of a boat, not a spice or a soft drink, in case you're curious), Sweet The Sting, Jamaica Inn, Sleeps With Butterflies, General Joy, Ribbons Undone, Ireland, Goodbye Pisces, Marys of the Sea, Toast. From "Little Earthquakes": China, Leather, Mother, Silent All These Years, Winter.
Plus I found a 7 track EP she calls a "Maxi Single" - It's basically one song, "Professional Widow", plus 6 remixes. Some people just loooooove remixes.. :) Me, well - I'm a pretty original kind of guy. ;) Except for this time.. some of the remixes *are* better.
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