http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:30:31 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. 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Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/30/153031.php lori yThere's a big difference between people who choose Miami Beach as opposed to Nauset Beach for a relaxing vacation; there's also a big difference between people who choose to regularly grab some down time instead of pushing themselves to the limit.I admit I'm a sucker for guys with guitars, cool voices. big hearts and no patience for the ordinary. Enter Damien Rice, David Grey, a young John Mayer and the most recent dude, James Blunt. I'm a little embarrassed, however, to say the first time I saw this guy was on Saturday Night Live back in November - the folks in the U.K. had spent the entire summer with him, lucky bastards. But continuing with the theme of the week, I was quite thankful to have stumbled upon him just the same.His voice was a bit reminiscent of a guy from the Massachusetts folk scene, Ellis Paul, but with so much more depth to it: James sang it from his gut. His demeanor that night was stunning, but what grabbed me was the intensity with which he belted out the vocals. During the course of the next week I read every piece of information I could about James and his debut album, Back to Bedlam: I found it kind of odd that everyone seemed to be more focused on his experience in the Kosovo army and less about how amazing the album actually was.Yes, he's a young British guy with a lot of life experiences under his belt but what's most important and blatantly obvious is his passion to write about them as they pertain to life outside the war zone. You would never know he wrote some of the tunes inside his tent with the boots on and gun close by. What sets Back to Bedlam aside from so many albums created out of duress is James choosing to write from his heart, not his head.So I'm thinking that if you have to choose Miami Beach for your next vacation, you might want to bring along Back to Bedlam - a little sanity is what you'll need and James Blunt is all over that. Music42939@blogcritics.org Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:30:31 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/27/140526.php lori yWouldn't it be nice if life did move in slow motion, just turning it down a notch?I was very excited about the release of David Gray's seventh album and secretly hoping for a continuation of his masterpiece, White Ladder. Unfortunately, when I heard that this was his first time recording in a "full size studio" instead of his home I started to get a little worried; where there's a studio there's usually more racket and in this case it definitely feels like there's too much going on in the room. White Ladder was such a spiritual recording, I should have known something so special could never be duplicated, only aspired to.But thankfully, Life In Slow Motion carries with it a force that implies David may have, at times, blocked out all the distractions, as though he was still recording at his own home. The beauty of David Gray has always been his voice, his no-nonsense lyrics and ability to create space amongst the music - all of this shines through.My friend was telling me that he doesn't even know who David Gray is - I was actually at a loss for words, but not too surprised because this particular guy tends to shy away from anything emotional with substance thrown in. However, he might actually appreciate Life... because, even though Gray's typical melancholic charm shines through, he doesn't let you wallow for too long. Some abrupt arrangements have been added but you have to hope this experimentation was just a phase - unsettling is not a word we want to use to describe David Gray.I just wish it did feel like life in slow motion, instead of just life in motion, but with all the crap out there this one is a necessity for the coming months. A perfect accompaniment for watching the leaves turn to snow... and tapping into your wine collection.Edited: GS Music36906@blogcritics.org Tue, 27 Sep 2005 14:05:26 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/09/25/104822.php lori yMost of us travel through life with our minds racing and bodies flailing. Getting ourselves to feel grounded on a regular basis not only takes a lot of work, but tons of patience and focus. Plus there is enough outside clatter in this world to so easily distract us from getting to that place of bliss. Thankfully, Coldplay has created an album so grounded there's no way you'll be racing around town with this one in your possession.It is so obvious that the nation is craving some serenity with the hugh sucess of Coldplay and the release of X&Y. Chris Martin, little Apple's "cool" daddy and front man of the band is a bona fide rock star and he seems to do it so effortlessly you'd think the guy was living in another world and in another time. He's managed to marry Gwyneth Paltrow, be in a band who's success is compared to U2 and write songs about it that turn out to be mini masterpieces. Coldplay has always carried with them the stigma of having a repetetive sound and X&Y is no exception- but this time it makes the album soar, well beyond the realm of our expectations. It feels like a large album with a very large purpose. With all thirteen tracks complimenting each other, I hate to single out any one out, but track #4 has too much energy and strength not to and if you let it, with one listen "fix you" may even bring (dare I say it) a tear to your eye... I'll leave it at that. Coldplay has a unique ability to write songs about love and life's triumphs without sounding forlorn or desperate, and the way Martin sings them it sounds like the words are coming directly from the gut of his soul; it almost feels like we're peeking into his livingroom window watching him scribble in his notebook.X&Y has such a mesmorizing tone it seems to seep into our subconscious like some sort of spiritual subliminal recording- minus the creepiness. It commands our attention almost to a fault, being that there's no way to focus on anything but Chris's lyrics while you listen. It's simply intoxicating.Coldplay's third album stands so tall it's hard to imagine how the fourth or fith one will feel; hopefully the band won't come up for air too soon. this is beautiful, goosebump provocink music- something the world needs a whole lot more of. Music36750@blogcritics.org Sun, 25 Sep 2005 10:48:22 EDT