Brian James's Blog, page 43

Carefully Worded

A school assignment this week got me thinking about writing and word choice. The assignment was to think about the differences between the words vision, mission, goals, and objectives. It pointed out that these words are often used interchangeably though they have very distinct differences. While I know the difference between these words, primarily that vision and goals are more aspirational, while the others are more focused on tasks, I also know that I often use them interchangeably. 
Most people think that writers wouldn't make these mistakes because they think of writers as being very careful with their words. And that is true, as a writer, I am very careful with my words. But for me, it's not careful in the sense that I try to be exact with language. I'm careful to use words that fit best in the sentence, in the character's voice, and in the narrative style of the text, and let definitions and exactness fall by the wayside. 
I've always been a stylistic writer, for better or worse. The art and sound of words is more important to me than the clarity of their meaning.

Weekend Music Roundup

The groovin' kid photo can mean only one thing...the weekend has arrived, and with it comes my usual ramblings on music that has either inspired me, angered me, entertained me, or just made me curious over the past several days. This is a list compiled of a couple of new releases that I'd been looking forward to along with a few albums that are recent additions to my vinyl collection. All in all, there are plenty of fantastic albums on this list, many of which I would recommend to everyone. Hopefully some of you will take my recommendation and find something to listen to. Enjoy.
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me: This band is just Phil Elverum (of The Microphones) and one that I've listened to for over a decade. This is the first album in two years and the first since the passing of his wife from cancer. The songs on here detail his heartbreak over losing his wife and raising their baby. Though consumed by overwhelming sadness, this is nothing short of a beautiful album that reads like an eternal love letter. An album that everybody should listen to at least once. Stunningly honest and remarkable.
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Damage and Joy: The iconic '80s post punk band just released their first studio album in 19 years and it's far more enjoyable than I expected. Gone is the deep fuzz and distortion that characterized their legendary albums. This is far more noise pop than shoegaze. It reminds me of Spiritualized, and had this album come out twenty years ago, it would have been a favorite of mine. As it stands now, I enjoyed it, but it didn't feel special enough to love in this day and age. "Mood Rider,""War and Peace," and "Facing Up to the Facts" are my personal favorites.

Roky Ericson - Outtakes from "All That May Do My Rhyme" & Live 1975: This is a bootleg album that I got for my birthday, but never got around to reviewing it because I needed to enter into the database first. The outtakes are from Roky's later quieter work, and is phenomenal. The live songs on the flip side are also dynamite. I'm a huge Roky fan and don't think he can really do any wrong, so my take on this might be skewed. One of the most under appreciated rockers in music.
Marc Bolan - Skycloaked Lord (...Of Precious Light): This archival US radio show was recorded shortly after T-Rex's Electric Wizard album, at the height of the glam rocker's career. But this is very different. It's just him and an acoustic guitar. I went into this not expecting any very different than what I was used to from him, but I was so wrong. This was mind-blowingly good! Released on limited blue vinyl, this is a gem.

John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow: Released in 1985, at the height of the Indiana rocker's career, this is the signature album of his career, featuring the mega hits "Small Town," "Lonely Ol' Night," and "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." It also stands as one of the few political rock albums of the mid-80s which were caught up in the glamour of rock life and left the social issues on the back burner. This album cemented the Cougar as the torch bearer to Bruce Springsteen's '70s work. Though he continues to make music, he would never again reach the level of fame from this time. A great '80s rock record.

Family - Bandstand: In their five years as a band, between the years 1968 and 1973, the UK psychedelic prog band released eight albums. This one, from '72 is the next to last, but no less exciting and rewarding than previous. It takes on more of the maturity of early '70s era psych blues than early albums, but still has that Traffic vibe that I enjoy so much. This is still part of my going through the three missing pieces of my Family collection that I recently snatched up for cheap. "Glove" and "Ready to Go" are stand outs on this one. 

Fiction Friday (50)

It's April. I'm embarrassed that this is the first Fiction Friday post of the year. So much for my trying to increase my reading. Well, not exactly. I've read mountains of academic articles and textbooks in past four months, but I would never bore you all with those readings. I also suffered a setback when I spent a month reading a book that I just couldn't get into enough to finish, a habit that I very rarely partake in. But all that aside, the Fiction Friday file is back and here is the first filing of the year...and it's a great one. Hopefully these posts will increase in frequency from now on. Enjoy. 
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
(Grove Press, 1994)
This collection of short fiction was my first introduction to Borges, which is a little odd that it took me so long to come around to reading his work given my love of this kind of writing and obsession with Grove Press material from the time period. But alas, it was my introduction and I have to say the introduction went well.

I was hooked from the first story about a strange encyclopedia which seemed to chronicle an alternate history of worlds and later fell in love with the story of Babel and a circular mystery piece which reminded me of Robbe-Grillet's Erasers. If my descriptions sound cryptic and a little disjointed, well that's because Borges' writing is cryptic and a little disjointed, which is precisely what I like about it.

I've encountered similar writing styles in novels and am pleased to see it work so well in shorter works. In some cases it works better, but my novel obsessed self craved more in some of the works. I wanted the irregularities to continue for hundreds of pages and dig deeper into the imaginative ideas presented. But that is also the genius of the short format...leaving the reader to wonder and extend the story through his or her own imagination.

April, 1st....Happy Birthday, Sakura

Forget April Fool's Day...It's Sakura Kinomoto's birthday! Celebrating the birthday of one of my favorite fictional characters is much better than pranking people.

Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend has arrived once again, and with it comes a fresh crop of my ramblings on music I've listened to in past several days. This week's list includes a few new releases that I was anticipating, along with some recent vinyl pick ups from the past. There's a broad range of genres here, from folk, to rock, to jazz, and hip hop. So there's no excuse for everyone not to find at least something you might be interested in checking out. Enjoy.

Winter Sisters - Together not Together: This 2017 album is a collaboration album from Jordaan Mason (one of my favorite song writers) and Sean Rovito (a song writer new to me). While it's very much inline with Jordaan's brand of indie folk, it's definitely more experimental than his records. It's a sound that might turn off some people, I really appreciate the beauty found in the strangeness. "Not Uxorial," "Fix Anything," and "Spider/Spit" are my personal favorites.
Spoon - Hot Thoughts: Without a doubt, this Austin indie band was one of my favorites of the last decade, having recorded two of my favorite records of the '00s with Girls Can Tell and Gimme Fiction. Though I've continued to enjoy their work, I admit I haven't loved their albums since Gimmie Fiction. This is their first record in four years, and it started off a little slow for me. While I liked the first few songs, they were clearly more produced and radio ready than I care for, but then something happened. About halfway through, I started to hear that old school Spoon sound come through and I was hooked. "Tear It Down," "I Ain't the One" and "Shotgun" are real standouts on another quality album by these guys.
Onry Ozzborn - c v p ii d: Keen followers of the Roundup will have noticed my renewed interest in hip hop over the past few weeks and it continues here. The Seattle rapper has been making music two decades and he continues with this semi-concept album about the mythical Cupid. This is abstract, conscious hip hop that reminds me of El-P. It has decent enough beats, and clever enough lyrics, but this one didn't grab me. Perhaps it's because I've been listening to so many recent hip hop records that have blown me away. A solid okay.

Charlie Parker - Carlie Parker Volume IV: Recorded four years before his untimely death and released nearly a decade after, this collection of live recordings captures the Bird at his mellow and relaxed best. Jazz is essentially a live genre since it relies on the interplay that happens as the music is performed and this is definitely true for Parker. I recently found this copy for a few dollars and will be on the look-out for other volumes in the series.

Family - A Song for Me: Released in 1970, this is the third album from the UK psych blues rock band. I've been into this band for some years now and still can't figure out why they aren't more popular than they are. I recently picked up three of their albums that were missing from my collection, and decided to listen to this one first as it is chronologically the earliest of the three. This is more blues inspired than some the records that would follow, which moved into prog rock. "Stop for Traffic," "Some Poor Soul," "Wheels" and the outstanding title track are real standouts on this wonderful record.

The White Stripes -Rare A Sides/ Rare B Sides: This collection of rare tracks is one that I've had digitally for years, and has been a long time favorite of mine. This past weekend I came across a 2012 red vinyl release of it and couldn't resist. There are some amazing tracks on here, including covers of Captain Beefheart's "Party of Special Things to Do" and "China Pig." Most die-hard fans will be familiar with a lot of these tracks as they've played many of them live, but casual fans should also check these out. 

Weekend Music Roundup

It's the first official weekend of Spring, and while I will lament the passing of winter and dread the coming of summer, I will enjoy the mild days for the time being. This was an interesting week in that I listened to two of the best new hip hop albums that I've heard in quite some time. As winter passes, so usually does my immersion in folk and stoner metal, though there is a holdover on here, and the movement into indie and psych rock. The transition has begun however and there are a few good ones on here. Enjoy.
Joe Young - Invincible Armour: Released last month, this is the best Wu Tang Clan related album in years. Under the tutelage of Cappadonna, Joe Young has mastered the Wu style and gets help from Clan icons Method Man, The Chef, Inspectah Deck, Master Killa, and even ODB to create an album that sits right alongside the bands' other kung-fu themed records like Enter the 36 Chambers and Liquid Swords. Every song on here is in the classic Wu style and a must for fans clamoring for that old school hardcore sound.
The Octopus Project - Memory Mirror: It's been 15 years since the Austin based indietronica band's debut, and next month they return with their ninth, and first in four years. I've followed this band for over a decade and one thing about them is that they are always original. There is nobody quite like them. They are a more experimental version of The Flaming Lips, or along the same lines of early Flaming Lips with more focus on electronic influences. "Wrong Gong," "Bounce,""Pedro Yang," and "Woah, Mossman!!" were my personal favorites. 
Stinking Lizaveta - Journey to the Underworld: The eighth album from the Philly stoner metal band came out last month, their first in five years. This is a band that I checked out several years ago, but they've certainly improved since then. This instrumental math rock, stoner metal is wonderfully played, evoking stunning images in the sounds created. "Chorus of Shades," "Blood, Milk and Honey," and the title track are standouts.

Smino - blkswn: The debut full length album from Chicago rapper is one of the most original sounding hip hop albums I've heard in a long time. Not since Digable Planets first record can I remember hearing a hip hop album that felt so "new" to my ears. The influence of jazz and R&B on here brings a mellowness to his sometimes chaotic flow. The whole vibe of this record caught me into its groove and I was left pretty blown away. Highly recommended.

Danko Jones - Wild Cat: This is the ninth album from the Toronto rock band. I confess to giving it a go simply because of the cover, a process that has payed off in the past, and of course failed terribly. This falls somewhere in between, but leans closer to the terrible. I couldn't get into this brand of hard rock that feels very Ted Nugent 70's era rock n' girls nonsense. There are some good riffs on here, but they never quite come together, and lyrically, it's regrettable at best. A great album cover gone to waste.

Living in Alternative Worlds

Last week I wrote about my itch to begin work on a new story. Over the last few days, that itch has turned into a rash spreading across my imagination. Given that I also had a bit of a slow week for once, I'm happy to report that I dove in and started breathing life into that story. So far, I'm enjoying my time in deep space on a journey to a new star. I haven't worked on a story so distantly connected to real life in a long time and I'm excited to be living in this alternate world for the time being.

Weekend Music Roundup

The week of the Blizzard has come to a close...with snow expected, of course. I spent this surprisingly wintry weekend listening mostly to dark music, as is my usual sound of choice in this weather. I also listened to my first new hip-hop album of the year, which was a good one. This was also a week of exploration with only one album on here being from an artist who I was familiar with prior to listening to the records on here. All in all, some good stuff. Enjoy.
Son Volt - Notes of Blue: When Uncle Tupelo split in 1994, its two songwriters went separate ways. Jeff Tweedy founded Wilco and Jay Farrar founded Son Volt. Not nearly as prolific as Wilco, this is their first record in four years, and only the third in the past ten years. However, Son Volt has stayed truer to the alt-country sound pioneered by Uncle Tupelo and this album takes it another step, set deep in the gothic country genre for much of the album. Certainly worthwhile and a welcomed return.

Son of the Velvet Rat - Dorado: The newest record from the Austrian folk band was released last month and it's quite good. It reminds me a bit of Bob Weir's latest with the earthy roots vibe that permeates throughout.Vocally, this is the closest thing to classic Dylan that I've ever heard. "Cooper Hill," "Blood Red Shoes," and "Love's the Devil's Foe" are standout tracks for me. Apparently the California desert was the inspiration for this album, and it has that desolate loneliness about it that makes it special.
Super Snake - Leap of Love: The NJ stoner rock band's debut album was released last month. I was attracted to this by the awesome cover and while it didn't live up to the brilliance of the artwork, it's pretty decent stoner rock. Definitely not essential, but certainly worth checking out if you're into the genre. Some highlights for me were "Lavish Sum of Dread," "Spirit Cave," and "Get Lost, Be Mine."

Your Old Droog - Packs: Released last week, this is the Brooklyn rapper's second album which comes three years after the debut (and quite a few EPs between). The appeal of Your Old Droog is his traditional flow and the way he keeps it real to classic 90's East Coast Hip Hop from the beats to the flow. Though respect is paid to the Old School, this still sounds fresh. "Winston Red," "Help," "I Only" and the fantastic "Rapman" are standouts for me.
Dusk - Dusk: The new album from the NJ rock band is one I listened to on a whim. I can't find out anything about this band due to the fact that there are a million bands named Dusk. This is metal with punk roots and has a decidedly late '90s or early '00s feel. Musically, it's pretty solid but the vocals, while not terrible, leave something to be desired. I'm assuming this is a debut record and if so, there's potential.  

Write On!

I made provisions the other day that will allow me to carve out some more time for writing over the next ten weeks. I have several stories that I need to cull through and figure out what I'm doing with them. I also have a new story that I'm itching to work on. My overachieving goal is to work through several of these projects now that I have nothing to hold me back...except for an active toddler, who also happens to double as inspiration. Wish me luck.

Weekend Music Roundup

Hey music lovers out there! The good news of the day is that it's the weekend and that means more ramblings on the interwebs of my recent listening habits. This week features some highly anticipated new releases, at least for me, as well as some relatively recent vinyl fans that I picked up. There's some classic albums on here, and one brand-new one that really impressed me. Hopefully you will all find some time on this frigid weekend to explore some new sounds. Enjoy.
Sun Kil Moon - Common as Light and Love are Red Valleys of Blood: Back in 2014, Mark Kozeleck and co. released Benji, the band's sixth album and a true breakthrough in terms of style and structure. Three albums and three years later comes this double album that continues to re-define songwriting in a way that can be perplexing to some, take a bit of time to get into, and eventually become transforming. Mark's mixture of storytelling, free verse poetry, and traditional song craft is utterly unique and new. These 16 tracks, averaging well over 6minutes apiece, are honesty and insight. Another exceptional record. 
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Don't Get Lost: For over twenty years, the neo-psych San Fran band has been releasing their brand of indie rock. After a lull in the first part of the last decade, the original members reformed and they've been quite a roll over the past few years, releasing some of their best music. I've loved their last four efforts, but this one fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed it, just didn't love it as much as other recent efforts.
Manic Street Preachers - Motown Junk: This 1991 single was the first release from the Welsh rockers. Being as they are one of my favorite bands, when I came across a beautiful copy of this on 12", I simply had to have it. The A-Side is one of their best early tracks, and the two B-Sides are are also exceptional. "Sorrow 16" is another track from the first album, but the third track remains unreleased on any other release from the band and is in their classic political vein.
Savoy Brown - Hellbound Train: The UK blues rock band's eighth album was released in 1972, having averaged nearly two albums a year since their first (there was also a second album in '72). Despite the incredible output, there is no let down on here. They sound like a bluesy version of CCR, or maybe Creedence is just a folkier version of British Blues. Either way, all the instruments play off each other to create a wonderful rhythm and a Winwood-esque type soul in the singing. "Lost and Lonely Child," "Troubled by these Days and Times," and the title track are standouts.

Deadstar - Baby Teeth: The third album from the prog band based in India is their first in two years and was released back in January. I went into this record sort of expecting it to be prog metal, but it isn't. In a lot of ways, it is closer to electronic music, though not electronic, than to traditional prog. It's an nice instrumental album that's worth a listen if your into that kind of thing. You can hear it for free on their Bandcamp site which is linked above.
Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool: Released in '57, this compilation highlights Miles' early career, the most mellow part of his career. Many people prefer the more abstract jazz he would go onto to play in the following decade, but I for one like the big band feel of these tracks. It serves as a precursor for albums like Kind of Blue. One of my favorite lazy morning records, newly acquired on original vinyl.