March of the Zapotec & Realpeople

Today's Music That Jason Has Opinions About is March of the Zapotec and Realpeople, by Beirut.

Please don't get me started on Beirut. As far as I'm concerned, Zach Condon gets a free pass to make whatever music he wants, based on The Gulag Orkestar, hell, probably just for "Postcards to Italy" and "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)". Yes, he used the free pass a little with The Flying Club Cup, but if you showed up at my office and said you had tickets to a Beirut show, I'll be damned if I wouldn't figure out some way to go.

Anyhow, Zapotec is part Beirut, part Zach Condon Does Album Leaf or something like that. The first half of the album is traditional Beirut, all horns with a Mediterranean feel to it. While I don't know if it reaches the heights of Gulag Orkestar, this part of the album is not Beirut's least work, and probably falls in with the Lon Gisland EP in terms of sound and quality. It's very listenable; if it doesn't quite reach the stars, it certainly finds a place above the clouds.

The second half of Zapotec is a little more experimental. It has a largely electronic sound, though structurally, it still identifies with the rest of the album (and Beirut in general, as strange as that may seem based on the instrumentation). It relies on the vocals somewhat less to carry the songs, and the mood is a bit more restrained than I would have expected. Naturally, I wouldn't say this is the stronger half of the album, but it's certainly more interesting, if only as a curiosity. It isn't the direction I'd prefer to see Beirut take its sound (as though I have a choice), but it's a surprising change of pace, and not a mistake (if maybe a misstep, though only because the more organic and European sound is something I am fond of).

So, to summarize: A pretty good album, half strong, half interesting, not really a galvanized work, but a worthwhile one.

In Other News:
Man do I need sleep today.

My doctor's report was all positive! Let's drink to that. I should have asked about my shoulder, but it seems to be getting better (albeit not at the rate I would like).

The weather is pretty decent today, and you know what that means.

Postcards From Italy, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Give Radio a Chance

Dear Grand View College Radio,

I just wanted to tell you thanks, for playing decent music in the mornings lately. You really caught my attention a couple weeks ago when you let some guy play all of Kind of Blue on a rainy day, which was about the best thing that could have ever happened to anyone. Because of this, I decided to give you a chance.

And so far, you've been pretty good! Granted, you play too much bad rap in the late afternoon, and your kids show on the weekend is unwelcome (but not surprising, given that all of your student DJs are likely hung over). In the mornings, though, and sometimes even in the evenings, your playlists are pretty decent. Some of the artists you've given me in the last week alone are Devotchka, Hot Chip, Okkervil River, Bon Iver, even the Dead Kennedys. As much as I'd like to mourn the death of radio and just listen to my White Stripes CDs on the way to work, you've probably given me enough reason to keep your frequency as one of my radio presets.

Of course, this morning, you played 'Postcards From Italy', the Beirut song that everyone loves. I had to sit in my car and finish listening to it, and for a moment, there, I was in Portland, jumping around like a teenager with the worst headache I've ever had, living for the horns and the strings and the crowd.

Don't get too excited, okay? I'm still going to listen to the 90's at Noon sometimes when I am out and about over the lunch hour, and at night I'll probably opt for NPR's Night Music if you're playing Mike Jones or something else equally silly.

Sincerely,
Your Local Catgun

In Other News:
I have to start sleeping sometime. Cripes.

I'm also a little confused today but it's probably nothing. As usual.

Music I'm listening to today: Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island, and Parts & Labor - Mapmaker. I really like both of them, though they are quite different in sound and tone. Full reviews likely coming later this week. If I feel like it.

Jason Goes West

So I have been on the road. There is probably a better, more detailed entry in me, but for today you get a synopsis:

I went to Omaha to see Devotchka. They were incredible; their opening band, Basia Bulat, was amazing too. Wonderful show, would do this again any time. So many little surprises. And a tuba!

Then I went to Portland to see Beirut. Rowdy, rambunctious crowd, fantastic show. Two encores, the second of which surprised a lot of people (as probably 50% thought the show was over after the first, and left). Such a great show!

And I spent too much money, eating at fabulous restaurants I would normally eschew in favor of dirty diners. Still, the whole trip was great fun, worth every minute, even the time in Portland I had a horrible headache.

The Hydrox Blog

Today's blog is 'The Hydrox Blog' because it's a cheap imitation of the original, since there isn't time for a real blog. But for the sake of including some music in here, let's talk briefly about the new Beirut album, The Flying Club Cup.

I like this album. It has even more instruments on it than Gulag Orkestar, and I think it's a more consistent and overall better album. However, none of the songs really grab me the way that "Postcards From Italy" and "Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)" do. I mean, there are some marvelous songs on this album - tracks #2 and #4 stand out in my mind already - but I can still hear the driving trumpet from "Postcards From Italy" in my head all the time. Well, I've only listened to The Flying Club Cup twice, though I suspect there will be more listens in the near future.

In other news:
My new car has a CD player. And now that I have one, I don't know how I ever survived without it.

Gulag Orkestar

Today's Music That Jason Will Probably Get Into A Fight About At Some Point:

It's easy to nitpick. Nothing is ever perfect and criticism comes easy to most people, whether we like to believe so or not. If only this sandwich had more mustard, if only it were not so humid, if only so-and-so were a little more blonde. But is anything really above criticism?

YES.

Earlier this year, after having heard a couple of songs from Gulag Orkestar at The Lift one night, I purchased the CD. This album immediately endeared itself to me; through my first listen, I could tell that this was something monumental, on the order of the Arcade Fire's Funeral or even Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. This album is fantastic, inspired music, the kind of music that puts so much simple popular music to shame. But enough gushing, what does it sound like?

It sounds like a bunch of drunken gypsies who really know how to play their instruments, sitting around a fire, not really talking about what songs to play because they don't have to. There isn't much in the way of traditional rock instruments on this album; it's mostly horns, accordion, mandolin, and so on. The vocals will never be as smooth as say, Marvin Gaye, but they work perfectly with the casual theme of the whole album. It does have a bit of a dark tone to it, but it's hard not to fall in love with this album. There isn't anything contrived here to speak of.

Beirut is releasing an album on the 9th of October this year, and you can believe I'll purchase it as soon as I can. If anyone made a movie about my life, it might be lame, but the soundtrack would be awesome.

In Other News:

Saturday's plans fell through so I went to see Once. I wrote a gushing note about it already, but it's good, really good. Go see it!

Yesterday I had probably the best tuna sandwich I've ever had. I also took a dozen or so pictures of the sunset peeking out from the tail of a thunderstorm, giving the sky an interesting honey color.

This weekend went by way, way too fast, and it doesn't seem like I accomplished much of anything. It wasn't bad, really, I just couldn't keep up with anything in particular.