El Blogo Del Juan

With the recent addition of the apple iphone application I have been sampling different apps and I installed the Pandora music player. As it turns out this app is just a mobile interface for the web site www.pandora.com. Pandora is a web site that you tell it a band you like and then it plays songs that it thinks you will like. You then give a thumbs up or thumbs down to each song and I assume it alters the future playlist based on what you like and don’t like. However, it occurs to me that it would be funny if it didn’t . That said I have Pandora’s reasoning:been fairly impressed on what it has played for me. I took 2 playlists I created and wrote down the next 5 songs it played. These weren’t the first 5 it played because I didn’t think about blogging it fast enough. It is interesting to see how they categorize certain songs. My comments in italics

Playlist #1
Band I Like: Pinback

Song #1
Pinback
Charborg
Pinback

Pandora’s reasoning: Electric rock instrumentation, electronica influences, punk influences, intereweaving vocal harmony, paired vocal harmony, minor key tonality, melodic songwriting, vocal duets

I tell it I like Pinback so it plays a Pinback song for me. Fair enough. Thumbs Up

Song #2
Mellowdrone
Fashionably Uninvited
Box (Explicit)

Pandora’s reasoning:mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, major key tonality, a vocal centric aesthetic

Thumbs Up

Song #3
Modest Mouse
Heart Cooks Brain
The Lonesome Crowded West

Pandora’s reasoning:Major key tonality, vocal harmonies

I’ve never been terribly fond of Modest Mouse but I liked this song. I hope it doesn’t rank based on band but song characteristics. Thumbs Up

Song #4
Pinback
Subbing For Eden
Autumn of the Seraphs

Pandora’s reasoning:mild rhythmic syncopation, interweaving vocal harmony, paired vocal harmony

Pinback again. Not terribly inventive but it’s hard to fault for playing the hits. Thumbs Up

Song #5
The Ranconteurs
Steady, As She Goes
Broken Boy Soldiers

Electric Rock instrumentation, a subtle use of vocal harmony mild rhythmic syncopation, a clear focus on recording studio production, mixed minor and major key tonality, a vocal centric aesthetic, electric rhythm guitars, a distinctive male lead vocal

I had never heard the Ranconteurs but had heard a lot about them. It’s interesting that they listed vocal centric aesthetic and distinctive male vocal because I think of Pinback having neither. I didn’t like this song. Thumbs down

Then I told them I like Quicksand

Playlist #2 Quicksand

Song #1
Clutch
Promoter(Of Earthbound Causes)
Blast Tyrant
hard rock roots, a subtle use of vocal harmony, repetitive melodic phrasing

One of my favorite bands. Well played sir, well played. Thumbs up.

Song #2
Dinosaur Jr.
Lose
You’re Livin All Over Me
hard rock roots, punk influences , a subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, demanding instrumental part writing, minor key tonality, a vocal-centric aesthetic, electric rhythm guitars

It seems like every time I hear a dinosaur jr song just off hand I like it, ask who it is, and someone tells me it’s dinosaur jr. If I go listen to them on my own then I don’t like them. Thumbs down

Song #3
Unwound
Natural Disasters
The Future of What

We’re playing this track because it features hard rock roots, punk influences , minor key tonality dirty electric guitar riffs a gravelly male vocalist an aggressive male vocalist and many other similarities.

Generally I like Unwound but not this song. Thumbs down

Song #4
Three Penny Opera
Postcards From Far Horizons
Three Penny Opera

features hard rock roots, a subtle use of vocal harmony, minor key tonality, heavy electric rhythm guitars and many other

Thumbs down

Song #5
Shotgun Messiah
Sexdrugsrockn’roll
Second Coming

hard rock roots, a subtle use of vocal harmony, demanding instrumental part writing, minor key tonality and many other

I didn’t like this song but they would have gotten a Thumbs down just for their name. The first band played I have never heard of

Song #6
Gang of Four
Guns Before Butter
Entertainment!

hard rock roots, punk influences, a subtle use of vocal harmony, demanding instrumental part writing, minor key tonality and many other

I had heard of these guys name but not sure if I have ever heard them I dig it. Thumbs Up

All in all I really like this site/application. It definitely is getting me to listen to songs/bands I might not have otherwise. Based off listening I am going to go get Maritime We, The Vehicles as soon as possible. I was disappointed with their first album post Promise Ring/Dismemberment Plan but they are awesome now and Pandora showed me.

Sometimes I miss playing music live and this video is exactly why. The way these guys start this song/show makes me want to be 18 and playing again. It’s the Refused by the way.

Just a quick note that I noticed Geoff Farina is playing at Schubas tomorrow(Nov 10th)

A year ago I bought tickets to pinback, one of the only new bands I have found in the last couple years that I have REALLY liked. I got lazy and decided not to go half because I got lazy and half because I was afraid that I would be disappointed by the live show of a band that relies heavily on digital recording techniques. I saw Death Cab for Cutie at the Vic in 2004-ish and was so disappointed in the band I pretty much stopped listening to them entirely. They were half way through the song company calls before I realized what song they were playing. With all that said I heard the May 2005 show of pinback that I had skipped was very good so I made a point not to miss them when they came to town this time, that and the fact that I can see the Logan Square Auditorium where they played from our front window.
I went into the show with low expectations of how the voices would come out live because they sound so smooth (read autotune) recorded. I underestimated them by a lot. They came off very well live and with it in mind that it’s a live show and not just playing it exactly like the record I would say they are a great live band.
They were very good at playing all the hits with most of the show coming from their Summer in Abandon and Blue Screen Life albums. They played every song I would have liked to hear except maybe B which someone requested and they said the drummer didn’t know it.
My only real complaint would be they played a long encore but that’s not a good complaint since I could have left if I wanted.
I have to give a big thumbs up to the smoking ban in Chicago. Coming home from a show and not having to change my clothes and take a shower is such a different experience. I was afraid it wouldn’t be enforced by clubs but so far so good. Someone lit a cigarette during the encore so I moved to the back. If that is as bad as it gets I can take it.
All in all I am glad I went and I also picked up a tour EP from their last tour. They didn’t produce anything for this time out which is likely due to the singer’s new son whom he said was seeing him play live for the first time ever as well as both singers saying they played World of Warcraft. As a MMORPG veteran I am not surprised that it would work against their release schedule

I just realized that you can buy a North by Northwest song on iTunes. I would link our old site but we let the domain expire unfortuntely and it got bought up by a domain name purchasing company….

Anyway a compilation we were a part of “Foreign Nationals ” is on there and we submitted the song “Naming the Red Planet” Song title taken from a National Geographic poster I used to have on the wall in my college apartment. The song is so-so, not one of our best but could have been interesting had we recorded it better. Anyway, I am still amused.

I don’t even know where to start. It’s outrageous. It’s so completely overwhelming I am just listening to 30 seconds of a song and then jumping to something else. Organizing it all is such a pain I’m half considering writing a batch file to do it. Hit me up for details!

Speaking of guitar wanking from my last post I saw another G3 video off netflix. G3 was a tour that Joe Satriani and Steve Vai did together and they had a third guitarist that changed. The first one I saw was with Eric Johnson. The video was awesome. Satriani is boring(watch the crowd while he is playing for proof all they do is stand in place and watch him play rather than listen to the music. Eric Johnson was average and Steve Vai is awesome. The one I just rented was the same tour( I think) but a show in Denver. Instead of Eric Johnson it was Yngwie Malmsteen. If you want to feel bad for someone who thinks he is a god but no one else does you should see Yngwie these days. It’s by far the most ridiculous thing I have seen that was intended as serious in a long time.

Of all the bands I have really liked a lot I know the least about Propagandhi. Usually I know the names of members what they play and what bands they have been in and when they leave what they go on to but as far as propagandhi goes I am seriously confused. I just found they have a website that I guess they started with their new album Potemkin City Limits. btw the new album is good. Anyway, here is how I thought it laid out and someone needs to set me straight.

I thought they were a three piece where the guitarist sang and then bass and drums with the bass player singling some too. The bass player left after Less Talk, More Rock and went on to sing and play bass for The Weaker Thans. They got a new bass player who also sings. They recorded Todays Empire Tomorrow’s Ashes. Then they recorded the new one.

So I know what’s up right? Well I just got done reading on their site that their guitarist quit before Potemikin City Limits and he did half the singing. Fine that would suck except the singer on Potemkin City Limits sounds a lot like the person who used to sing though I will concede the lyrics are a lot more shallow. The guitar playing has defintely changed and while it’s still fine and in the same vein I can buy that the amazing guitarist they used to have left. Check out this song to see what I mean. Dude was amazing. Played just awesome parts that were cool and intricate. It wasn’t guitar wanking for the sake of guitar wanking. See my previous post for the tangent that guitar wanking got me off on. I put it in it’s own post.

Anyway someone help me out because I don’t know who plays what and who is still in the band

So I moved into a new place near Logan Square here in Chicago a couple weeks ago. One of the dudes who used to live here left a bunch of cd jewel cases in a cabinent. I told him about them but he didn’t want to clean them out. He said just toss them and if I find any cds to call him. Yeah, not so much. So indeed there were some cds left. Unfortuntely most of them are pretty bad hence the “I wish he didn’t like better music” title. But, never one to give up quite so easily I think I’m going to review one a week on mondays just for a reason to listen to all of them. There are quite a few, 21 in all, so it will give me some material for a bit also. This monday we will kick it off with
Fear Factory – Demanufacture
If you want to own any one of these upcoming excellent albums let me know and it’s probably yours