A Short Break

So I took a short break, but I’m back.

The Coldplay show was fabulous.  The crowd energy was great and they really put on a fabulous show.  I really enjoyed the experience.  If you have a chance to see them in concert, do so.

The big thing since my last post has been my trip out to Phi Kappa Psi’s Grand Arch Council (GAC).  I was out in Indianapolis from last Wednesday to this past Sunday.  GAC is the venue where the fraternity amends the bylaws, elects new officers, and conducts the business that affects the fraternity as a whole.

There were around 600 people attending which made for a nice crowd.  I was able to hang out with a bunch of brothers from the NJ area.  I had met most of them earlier this year at their formal.  This time, I was able to get to know them individually and I had a great time hanging out with them.  As a result, I should be heading to more of their events from now on.

This was my third GAC and I am still enjoying the experience despite becoming used to the routine of everything.  I am looking forward to the next one in 2010 in Orlando.  I am debating whether or not to start a betting pool for how many brothers either get arrested or kicked out of Disney World.  I figure it should be interesting combining drunken fraternity guys and Disney World.

Other than the concert and GAC, I don’t have too much other news.  Work is going well and keeping me busy.  I keep winding up with jobs that take much longer than they should but I guess that comes with the territory.

Oh well, I’m heading to Counting Crows/Maroon 5 this weekend so that should be fun.  We’ll see what else occurs and makes for a good story.

Catching Up

I had a short hiatus from blogging but I’m back now.  I’m sure that everyone was upset that I was so quiet.  Hearts were breaking while tear ducts were being overused.  Anyway, on to my ramblings.

I’ll start with music today.  This past week, my sister got the new Coldplay album, Viva La Vida.  I stole it for a couple hours to check out the sound.  I like their past work and wanted to hear how they developed beyond that.  The only single I heard prior to listening to the full album was Violet Hill and it was a nice maturation of their natural sound.  That being said, other than Violet Hill, I don’t really like the album.  Its not a bad album, but I just don’t have the appreciation for Viva La Vida that I did for Parachutes or even X&Y.  I guess the best description I can have for the album is that I get the feeling Coldplay was trying to get more of a European sound to their music.  That’s not very descriptive but probably the best I can do at the moment.

Candlebox is coming out with new material and I’m extremely jazzed.  I loved them back in the day and can’t wait to hear what the next album sounds like.  We’ll wait and see and hope that the singles being released are as good as the album.

So, I’ve had Karl Jenkins’ Requiem on my list of albums to buy for quite a while.  I finally broke down and purchased it and I can say I’m very happy with my purchase.  I’ll admit to mostly wanting to hear if the rest of his piece compared with Dies Irae.  Overall, I don’t think that the album is as cohesive as some classical pieces I’ve purchased in the past but the outstanding portions of the album outweigh any negatives.

I think its a requirement for blogging this week that I have to mention the passing of George Carlin late last weekend.  Its amazing, the man was 71 years old and I still think he passed too early.  I never realized how much I considered him a gauge for the state of our culture until I realized he wouldn’t be around to pass judgement on us anymore.  I find that more depressing than I thought I would.  I’ve been reading/listening/watching his old bits this week and he really was an amazing comic.  I wonder who will step into his shoes and let us know where we’re screwing up without coming off as trying too hard.

Last weekend I went to see a play with my friend Kimmi.  Throughout college, she and I saw plays on a pretty regular basis and I went to see her perform even more than that.  With her being in New York, we don’t see each other nearly enough.  So, when she let me know one of her friends was directing a play in nearby Princeton and she wanted to see it together, I instantly loved the idea.

The play we saw was Arcadia by Tom Stoppard.  The only Tom Stoppard production I had seen prior to Arcadia was the video version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.  The video wasn’t bad but I could see where the writing became long-winded at times.  That’s not to say that the ideas and dialogue weren’t hilarious or thought-provoking, they were, just long-winded.

Arcadia turned out about the same.  Starting with the writing, some of the dialogue was hilarious and other portions would not end.  The pacing of the play was a bit off kilter.  Some of the scenes felt rushed while others gave me the feeling of sitting through a long sermon.  The play ended up being about 3 hours which was probably 45 minutes to an hour too long.  The acting was decent.  Not fantastic but good for summer theater.

The main role, Bernard, came off perfectly like an overbearing ass.  I felt like either the writing or the actors tried to redeem his character at the end but I’m not sure if that was even necessary.  I think his comeuppance regarding the duel provoked enough of a deflation to his ego and subsequently his snobbishness that overly humanizing his emotions for Chloe towards the end seemed a bit too much of a character change when he still was this respected scholar.

Septimus was well-cast.  His detachment while teaching in the initial scenes did a lot towards involving the audience in the play.

The play was fairly well-performed, well-written, a bit long-winded at times but overall very much what I expected from a Tom Stoppard script.

That’s about it for now, I’m tired and have work tomorrow.

Orgy of Music

So, for some reason, I’ve become interested in discovering new music again. This interest generally reoccurs every couple years but I haven’t felt it very strongly for the last several years. All of a sudden, I started buying cd’s and talking to singers/bands again. I’m not complaining in the least because it has been a lot of fun.

Its actually scary, I’ve been finding these bands through recommendations of other people and bands but the best place I’ve been finding to listen to samples of their music is myspace. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It is definitely much easier today finding samples of music of relatively unknown bands than it was 5-6 years ago.

So, without further ado, I figure I’ll share a couple of the artists/bands that I’ve discovered of late:

Alyse Black – Fabulous female voice from a jazz/ragtime background. The best word to describe her music is quirky. Its not a bad quirky, she has a great voice, and the music is well performed, the music just puts a smirk on your face with songs like “Emeline” and “Complete with Sound Effects.” And then you get to songs such as “Wouldn’t it Be Nice,” “Sally All My Days,” and the title track of her album “Too Much & Too Lovely” where a scene of smoke and comfortable booths comes to mind with the strong jazz tones and her well rounded voice. One of my new favorite artists especially considering she contacted me through myspace and suggested I check out her music after looking at some of the other artists I listen to.

Lauri Kranz and Snow and Voices – Lauri Kranz is a wonderful solo artist who I discovered after she joined up with Snow and Voices. One of the reviewers I read after purchasing her music said after hearing Kranz’s voice they were reminded of Beth Gibbons of Portishead. I definitely see the comparison but Snow and Voices has much more of a rock/jazz sound than Portishead’s trip-hop.

Portishead – Speaking of Portishead… Now I know that they are not anywhere close to a new artist or a new find for me personally. I’ve had Live at Roseland Ballroom for years now and still love relaxing to the Gibbons voice and its trance-inducing sound. The reason I bring up Portishead is that they just released a new album entitled Third (Impressive title I know). The sound has definitely evolved and become somewhat more refined and less reliant by Gibbons’ vocals. I’m not sure how much I like their new sound but its growing on me and their old stuff is always a great listen.

The Disco Biscuits – Nowhere close to being a new band, they’re new to me. I find that this Philly-based “trance fusion jam band” (thanks wikipedia for the description) is great background music when working on the computer. Their live sets are constantly evolving and impressive when listening for the individual components of their sound.

Gotan Project - Again, not a new group by any means. I love the Tango. I can’t dance it for the life of me but the music has to be some of the most sensuous ever created. A few years ago I discovered Astor Piazzolla, commonly called the Father of Nuevo Tango. Nuevo introduces new instruments and melodic elements into the traditional tango structure. I find this style even more alluring. Gotan Project continues this style today adding elements of hip-hop and techno without diminishing the style and body of Tango.

Anyway, those are some of the artists that I’ve been listening to lately and hopefully if you check them out, you’ll enjoy them as well.