Ramblings...

Top 10 of 2011

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:01:00 -0500

The following are my top 10 albums of 2011. While this year has featured some great reissues and live albums, I’m only including CD’s of new music. So, here goes…

Riverside, Memories In My Head
A mini-album clocking in at just over a half hour that is simply brilliant!
Steven Wilson, Grace For Drowning
While I really like this and find more that I like on repeated listens, I don’t think I like it as much as most.
Yes, Fly From Here
Easily the band’s best album since 90125.
Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins, A Scarcity of Miracles
Essentially a mellow King Crimson ProjeKct.
Opeth, Heritage
Abandons the death metal vocals altogether for a 70s prog vibe.
Pendragon, Passion
The second excellent album in a row from a band I never really cared for in the past.
Airbag, All Rights Removed
A solid sophomore release that isn’t quite as good as the debut.
Lunatic Soul, Impressions
An instrumental affair from Riverside’s Marius Duda.
Tommy Shaw, The Great Divide
The Styx guitarist/singer pulls off the bizarre - releasing an album of original bluegrass songs.
Blackfield, Welcome To My DNA
The weakest of Blackfield’s three albums, likely owing to Steven Wilson’s lack of input (he was saving his best work for his solo album).

I want to give a special mention to the Beach Boy’s Smile Sessions release. This album, originally recorded in the last 60s but never released in its entirity (individual songs have appeared on various Beach Boys albums and Brian Wilson released a solo version of the album in 2004), it’s great to finally hear the full Beach Boys version. So while not really a new CD per se, it does deserve a special mention.

And the usual disclaimer - I’m sure in a few months I’lll hear something from 2011 that I hadn’t heard yet that I’ll love, bumping something off of this list.

Happy New Year!

Jim

December playlist

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:35:11 -0500

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to the past month…

Steven Wilson, Grace For Drowning
Gazpacho, London
Yes, In the Present
Adrian Belew, Dust
Aimee Mann, @#%&! Smilers
David Gilmour, Live in Gdansk
Phil Manzanera, Diamond Head
Pendragon, Pure
Australian Pink Floyd, Live at the Hammersmith Apollo 2011
Resonance Association, Waving Not Drowning
Porcupine Tree, Recordings

November playlist

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:10:00 -0500

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to the past month…

The Kinks, Give the People What They Want
The Kinks, State of Confusion
The Kinks, Come Dancing With the Kinks
Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd, A Foot in the Door
Queen, Innuendo
Queen, A Kind of Magic
Queen, Made in Heaven
Queen, The Miracle
The Beach Boys, Smile Sessions
Gazpacho, London
Bass Communion, Cenotaph
Rush, Time Machine 2011
Pure Reason Revolution, Valour
Phil Selway, Running Blind
Steven Wilson, Grace For Drowning
Yes, Yesshows

October playlist

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:10:00 -0400

It’s been awhile since I posted a playlist, so…

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to the past month…

Steven Wilson, Grace For Drowning
King Crimson, Starless and Bible Black
King Crimson, Discipline
Gazpacho, A Night at Loreley
Gazpacho, Tick Tock
Gazpacho, Night
Airbag, All Rights Removed
Airbag, Identity
Yes, Close to the Edge
Yes, 9012Live: The Solos
Red Orchid, Blood Vessels and Marshmallows
The Kinks, Picture Book
Richard Butler, Richard Butler
Moraine, Metamorphic Rock
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
Resonance Association, Heliopause
Lunatic Soul, Impressions
Discipline, To Shatter All Accord
Pineapple Thief, Variations on a Dream
Alan Howarth performing music from John Carpenter’s The Thing

August playlist

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:08:35 -0400

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to the past month…

Anathema, A Natural Disaster
Anathema, We’re Here Because We’re Here
Porcupine Tree, The Incident
Porcupine Tree, Stars Die
Crack The Sky, Crack The Sky
Crack The Sky, White Music
Crack The Sky, Ghost
Solstice Coil, Natural Causes

Album ratings: Radiohead

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:58:00 -0400

Radiohead is one of those bands that’s all over the place for me. I liked their earlier, more-or-less straight-on alternative rock. I liked the darkness of O.K. Computer and the total weirdness of Kid A. But then the band lost me. Amnesiac, which was recorded at the same time as Kid A, lacks that album’s inventiveness. Hail to the Thief, while having some good songs (namely “There There”) is just sort of there for me. In Rainbows was a nice recovery, but I find the latest, The King of Limbs, an album that seems weird just for the sake of being weird. But, with this band, you never know what might come next (well, other than it will be weird)…

Studio Albums
Pablo Honey (1993): 3.5 stars
The Bends (1995): 4.5 stars
O.K. Computer (1997): 5 stars
Kid A (2000): 5 stars
Amnesiac (2001): 2.5 stars
Hail to the Thief (2003): 3 stars
In Rainbows (2007): 4 stars
The King of Limbs (2011): 2 stars

Album ratings: Marillion

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:43:30 -0400

Marillion will always hold a place in my heart as it’s the first band that Jessica and I discovered together. I had heard positive things about Marillion from some Pink Floyd usergroup that I was on at the time, so I thought I’d check them out. One day in the spring of 1996 while we were at some record store in the North Hills that doesn’t even exist anymore (there’s a Chuck E. Cheese there now), Jessica spied their live album, Made Again and we went from there. At one time our favorite band, they have slipped, quality-wise, over the past decade, and have been surpassed by Porcupine Tree (who, ironically, I got into because of Marillion!).

Studio Albums
Script For a Jester’s Tear (1983): 3 stars
Fugazi (1984): 2.5 stars
Misplaced Childhood (1985): 3.5 stars
Clutching at Straws (1987): 5 stars
Season’s End (1989): 3.5 stars
Holidays In Eden (1991): 3 stars
Brave (1994): 4.5 stars
Afraid of Sunlight (1995): 5 stars
This Strange Engine (1997): 3 stars
Radiation (1998): 3 stars
Marillion.com (1999): 1 star
Anoraknophobia (2001): 3 stars
Marbles (2004): 3.5 stars
Somewhere Else (2007): 1 star
Happiness is the Road (2008): 3 stars
Less is More (2009): 2 stars

I won’t bother with live albums as this band has released tons of them.

Album ratings: Pink Floyd

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:28:00 -0400

I was reading a magazine that reviewed all of Pink Floyd’s albums, and while it was an interesting read, I didn’t agree with everything. So I thought I’d rate albums on my own.

While Pink Floyd is no longer my favorite band (Porcupine Tree holds that distinction for over the past decade), I thought I’d start with the favorite band of my teen/college years. More rankings of other bands to follow.

Studio Albums
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967): 3 stars
A Saucerful of Secrets (1968): 2.5 stars
More (1969): 2 stars
Ummagumma (1969): 2.5 stars
Atom Heart Mother (1970): 2.5 stars
Meddle (1971): 3.5 stars
Obscured By Clouds (1972): 3.5 stars
Dark Side of the Moon (1973): 5 stars
Wish You Were Here (1975): 5 stars
Animals (1977): 4.5 stars
The Wall (1979): 4 stars
The Final Cut (1983): 3.5 stars
A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987): 3 stars
The Division Bell (1994): 3.5 stars

Live Albums
Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988): 2 stars
Pulse (1995): 4 stars
Is There Anybody Out There (2000): 3.5 stars

July playlist

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:39:37 -0400

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to the past month…

Yes, Fly From Here (my favorite Yes CD in quite some time)
Porcupine Tree, Deadwing
The Buggles, Adventures in Modern Recording
Anathema, A Natural Disaster
Zombi, Cosmos
It Bites, Eat Me in St. Louis
It Bites, It Happened One Night
Jakszyk, Fripp & Collins, A Scarcity of Miracles
Yes, 90125
Yes, Drama
Flower Kings, Tour Kaput
Tin Spirits, Wired to Earth

June playlist

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:26:13 -0400

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to the past month…

Riverside, Memories in My Head
Anathema, We’re Here Because We’re Here
Anathema, A Natural Disaster
Caravan, In the Land of Grey and Pink
The Cars, Move Like This
Richard Butler, Richard Butler
It Bites, This is Japan
It Bites, It Happened One Night
It Bites, The Tall Ships
Zombi, Cosmos
Spock’s Beard, X
Airbag, Identity
Porcupine Tree, Futile

May playlist

Sun, 29 May 2011 08:20:00 -0400

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to lately…

Pendragon, Passion
Pendragon, Pure
Pendragon, Believe
The Urbane, Glitter
Queen, A Night at the Opera
Queen, Sheer Heart Attack
Marillion, Afraid of Sunlight Live 2003
Nine Inch Nails, Pretty Hate Machine
Yes, Union Live
Roxy Music, The Thrill of it All
David Gilmour, Live in Gdansk
801, 801 Live
Porcupine Tree, The Incident
Porcupine Tree, Anesthetize
Zombi, Escape Velocity
Journey, Eclipse

April playlist

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:06:00 -0400

After a break from putting anything on the blog, here’s my playlist for the month of April…

The Clarks, Between Now & Then
Blackfield, Welcome to My DNA
Bruford, One of a Kind
Knight Area, Realm of Shadows
Eureka, Shackleton’s Voyage
Gazpacho, Night
UK, Live in America
Steven Wilson, Insurgentes
Miles Davis, Bitches Brew Live
PFM, Live in USA
Arena, Live & Life
Marillion, Afraid of Sunlight
Radiohead, Supercollidor/The Butcher
Kansas, Leftoverture
Steve Hackett, Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth

Mid-March playlist

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:55:57 -0400

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to lately…

Bryan Ferry, Let’s Stick Together
Bryan Ferry, Olympia
Bryan Ferry, In Your Mind
The Clarks, Between Now & Then
Porcupine Tree, In Absentia
Porcupine Tree, Signify
Elegant Simplicity, Crying to the Future
Pallas, XXV
Cody Carpenter, Cody Carpenter
Credo, This Is What We Do

Mid-February playlists

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:37:40 -0500

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to lately…

Porcupine Tree, In Absentia
Porcupine Tree, Anesthetize
Manning, Anser’s Tree
Roxy Music, Flesh + Blood
Roxy Music, Country Life
Brian Eno, Small Craft On A Milk Sea
Dec Burke, Destroy All Monsters

End-of-January playlist

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:51:00 -0500

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to lately…

Porcupine Tree, Signify
Porcupine Tree, Anesthetize
Crack The Sky, White Music
Crack The Sky, Crack Addict
Radiohead, Best Of
Talk Talk, The Colour Of Spring
IQ, The Wake - Live At De Boerderij
Marillion, Deep Purple Tour, 11/14/10 download
Roxy Music, The Thrill Of It All

Mid-January playlist

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:09:00 -0500

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to lately…

Porcupine Tree, Anesthetize
Porcupine Tree, Stars Die
Porcupine Tree, In Absentia
Yogi Lang, No Decoder
Crack The Sky, Alive And Kickin’ Ass
Crack The Sky, Live Rechler Theatre
Eddie Jobson, Ultimate Zero Tour Live
Elegant Simplicity, Purity And Despair
Elegant Simplicity, Story Of Our Lives

2010 - Good Riddance!!!!!!

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:03:48 -0500

So 2010 is winding down and I only have one thing to say…

Good riddance!!!!!

2010 has been one of the worst years that I can remember, if not the worst. So many things sucked in 2010 that I won’t even bother to list them. Let’s just say, it sucked. Bad. Very bad. I can never remember thinking “I can’t wait until this year is over and for the next one to start because this one has been absolutely terrible.” I’ve thought that this year. Actually, I’ve been thinking that about this year since about May. Yes, it’s been that bad, in about every way imaginable.

It’s strange, the only other year that has rivaled 2010 for absolute suckiness was 2001. And oddly, both were titles of Arthur C. Clarke novels. Next in that series is 2061. Whether I’m still alive then or not (I’d be 88), here’s to hoping 2061 is better than 2010.

But for the immediate future, here’s to hoping that 2011 is better. I’d like to say it can’t be worse, but you never know…

End-of-December playlist

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:52:20 -0500

Just a sampling of some of the things I’ve been listening to lately…

Gazpacho, Night
Gazpacho, Tick Tock
Gazpacho, Missa Atropos
Porcupine Tree, Lightbulb Sun
Porcupine Tree, Anesthetize
Crack The Sky, Crack The Sky
Crack The Sky, The Best Of The Rest
BunChakeze, Whose Dream?
Ukab Maerd, The Waiting Room
Elegant Simplicity, Aquatorium

A return to painting - a Festivus miracle

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 18:58:33 -0500

After debating whether or not I should resume my teenage hobby of painting, Santa (aka Jessica) got me a painting set this Christmas, making my decision much easier. Since I made my first painting on Christmas Day, 1987, I thought I’d keep with tradition and start repainting 23 years later. Here is the result…

I feel the results are mixed. I don’t think it’s that good of a painting, but considering it’s my first since I stopped painting in December of 1989 (when I was a junior in high school), I think it turned out okay. Also, I did this all off the top of my head - no instructions (when I used to paint, it was from watching Bob Ross videos or from instructional books). So considering that this was completely unaided after a 21-year break, again, I guess I did alright.

I think before I try my next painting, I want to watch some Bob Ross videos again (and fortunately, that Santa got me some of those, too).

Best CD's of 2010

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 06:53:19 -0500

Here it is, my annual top 10 CD’s of the year. I do want to preface this with this is how my top 10 stands now, December 15, 2010. I’ve discovered that after doing these lists for a few years now, I’ll discover music next year that was released in 2010 that would easily make this list. Two examples are Airbag’s Identity, which was released in 2009 but I didn’t hear until this year. Had I heard it in 2009, it easily would have been in my top 10 (top 3, actually). Another is Gazpacho’s Night, which I only discovered in 2010 but would have easily made my 2007 list.

So, that being said, here’s my list as it stands now. The top two are really close, but…

1. Crack The Sky, Machine
2. Phil Selway, Familial
3. Anathema, We’re Here Because We’re Here
4. Pineapple Thief, Someone Here Is Missing
5. Spock’s Beard, X
6. Lunatic Soul, Lunatic Soul II
7. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, The Social Network soundtrack
8. Gazpacho, Missa Atropus
9. Pure Reason Revolution, Hammer & Anvil
10. Bryan Ferry, Olympia

While not new music, a special mention to Porcupine Tree’s live release, Anesthetize, which probably ranks as my most-listened-to disc of the year.