track 2: yeasayer: "i remember"

The loss of an ipod; the addition of a new favorite band. After much contemplation over posting missing signs for my poor lost ipod, the odds aren’t looking good, and sadly I am now in mourning my lovely, silver, 8-gigabyte pal. Thankfully, my pain was eased by the new album by Yeasayer, Odd Blood. Heralded (perhaps prematurely) as the album of 2010 by my roommate (with impeccable taste in music), I had to hear it.

Having previously been obsessed with the song "Sunrise" from their debut album All Hour Cymbals, I was pretty stoked to hear something new from these psychedelic, experimental pop rockers. I was not disappointed- the new album is engaging, energetic, dance electro-pop: the new new-wave. It’s a nod to the current obsession with spandex, neon, tight jeans, Brat Pack films, converse, and danceable synth-pop. It sort of sounds like what Animal Collective would sound like if they joined up with Cut Copy, complete with digitally distorted harmonies, synthesisers, electro-percussion, and keyboard and guitar solos.

While not entirely innovative, Odd Blood builds upon what new wave started, and makes it more complex, adding lushly layered beats and strange vocal arrangements to an all around dance rock sound. Definitely worth a listen, and a solid addition to my life’s soundtrack. The new new-wave is totally rad, dude.

Pants off Dance off to: “Ambling Alp”, the first single to be released off the album.

Wait for my favorite: “I Remember” when the album is officially released in February.

Also, check out their Take Away Show from 2008 or take a peek at that of their fellow '08 tour mates, Man Man for some fun.

EW's Joseph Lynch in reference to "Ambling Alp": "The track sounds like some sort of trippy synth-pop bubble bath, with Yeasayer splashing around in effervescent electro waters which are surprisingly warm and inviting."

track 1: "hey jude"

Track One on My Life Soundtrack: The Beatles: “Hey Jude” I’ve been meaning to write this for so long now, that it feels a little odd finally putting it into words. The single most profound memory that I own, is one which I’m not even sure exists, or ever existed, outside my own head. Regardless, it remains possibly the single-most influential moment of my childhood I (might) remember. When I was 2 ½ years old, my dad videotaped me singing along to The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”. My cover version went something like “Hey dude, na na na na...”, but still I think that’s pretty good for a toddler. The odd thing about the song, is that it has come to truly affect my adult life. "Hey Jude" is the beginning and the end for me when it comes to music, and quite probably the source of my attachment to any and everything musical. Whenever it comes onto a playlist or random shuffle through my music library, it stays, and sometimes repeats. It lingers with me, and haunts me, makes me cry, and then want more. It’s because of the lyrics- which strangely were so unimportant to me during my first debauched performance of the song. They are beautiful, painful, true, comforting, and utterly heart wrenching. They demand the listener to “take a sad song, and make it better”, which in fact the song itself seems to do- turning a melancholy lullaby into a bittersweet anthem for hope and happiness. "Hey Jude" is an advisory to appreciate what we have, to try and take something from the disappointments, rejections and complete failures that life gives us and to learn from them. I understand that this could potentially sound vague or superficial, but I feel the need to impress upon each and every one of my few readers that we need this message, no matter how it has seemingly been beat to death in our “carpe diem” generation; a generation brought up in a time of monotony, complacency, and mediocrity. I can be a skeptic, but I also know the worth of positivity and blind optimism. That is why this song rings true to me. I’m not religious, but I do have faith in the undeniable feeling of belonging that occurs every once and a while, that makes us feel like we’re a part of something larger then ourselves. I feel like this song does that; it makes you feel like you can relate to the rest of the world, in maybe nothing more than your loneliness and sadness. That should be something to relish in. That should be something to enjoy- that you connect to the human culture, and that if nothing else, at least you can feel. The song “Hey Jude” exemplifies the struggle to connect, and furthermore to reconnect to something that we feel has betrayed us. It is a response to something that we feel is true that we are shown is not. It is a portrayal of disillusionment, of facing reality, and it is something we need to know is a universal feeling. We all feel betrayed: when we learn Santa is not real, when we learn our parents are fallible, when we learn our teachers know nothing, when we learn our leaders are flawed. It is a window into the humanity that we own. It is what we are. We are a “sad song made better”, and if anything, we should learn that we are all subject to fault, and to strive to make ourselves better because of it. So, in conclusion…go listen to “Hey Jude” and Carpe Omnia- don't just seize the day, seize it all. “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.” – John Lennon

soundtrack of my life

Hello and Happy New Year!

So, this has been a crazy past couple of months: finishing at UCLA, starting a relationship, moving to Davis, stumbling into the crumbling job market, and now rediscovering my need to write. I've been stockpiling ideas, scribbling down notes, striking them out, rewriting, and now I'm going to start from semi-scratch and add some new features. For now, I'm thinking I'll narrow my reviews to my favorite songs and albums.

Music that would make it on to My Life's Soundtrack.

Without further ado...let's begin...