Blogcritics

Random Shuffle - Frank Sinatra, John Mellencamp, Eric Clapton, and Wilco

Mat Brewster — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:15:18 EDT

I've got my music collection on shuffle and I'm talking about traveling, the difference physical albums and mp3s, and other things.
“Love and Marriage” - Frank SinatraFrom Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good YearsDownload the MP3Am I the only one who thinks of the old TV show Married...With Children, when I hear this song? That show, trashy as it was, became my introduction to Sinatra. I suspect I'm not the only one who found old blue eyes through it. For that alone,...

Random Shuffle - Regina Spektor, They Might Be Giants, Elvis and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Mat Brewster — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:44:39 EDT

I'm putting my music collection on shuffle and talking about karaoke, marital differences, getting older, and other random silliness.
“Fidelity” - Regina SpektorFrom Begin to HopeMy wife and I are different people when it comes to music. My wife is a radio listener. When we got married she had maybe 30 CDs. When it comes to naming her favorite bands, I'd have a hard time coming up with a list. I think she would too. I can come up with her top two (They Might Be...

Random Shuffle - Louis Armstrong, Neil Young, Blues Traveler, and Bruce Springsteen

Mat Brewster — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:51:39 EST

I'm putting my iPod on shuffle and talking about college, my love of the theatre, my obsessions with bootlegs, and a little bit of heartbreak.
“Hello Dolly” - Louis ArmstrongFrom The Definitive CollectionDownload the mp3. I wouldn't begin to call myself a theatre buff. I performed in a few plays in high school. I worked for a dinner theatre in college where I did everything from run the box office, served as a waiter, ran the light board, and even acted as a corpse in...

Random Shuffle - Radiohead, Juliana Hatfield Three, Gillian Welch

Mat Brewster — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:10:42 EST

I'm putting my music collection on shuffle and talking about Radiohead and long legs, Juliana Hatfield and mix tapes, and Gillian Welch and road trips.
I'm put my music collection on shuffle mode and talking about the songs that come up. I'm less interested in giving a simple review of each song than I am in the personal emotions and memories these songs conjure. I prefer to talk about music as an experience rather than something to be measured scientifically. “Creep” -...

Random Shuffle - Kate Bush, Bright Eyes, Bruce Hornsby, Donna The Buffalo

Mat Brewster — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:53:29 EST

I'm putting my music collection on shuffle and talking about what comes out.
I'm put my music collection on shuffle mode and talking about the songs that come up. I'm less interested in giving a simple review of each song than I am in the personal emotions and memories these songs conjure. I prefer to talk about music as an experience rather than something to be measured scientifically. “Eat the...

Random Shuffle: Jimmy Cliff, The Ramones, Willie Nelson

Mat Brewster — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:46:10 EDT

I'm putting my music collection on shuffle and talking about what comes up.
I'm put my music collection on shuffle mode and talking about the songs that come up. I'm less interested in giving a simple review of each song than I am in the personal emotions and memories these songs conjure. I prefer to talk about music as an experience rather than something to be measured scientifically. “Many Rivers To...

Random Shuffle: Natalie Merchant, U2, Ryan Adams, The Grateful Dead

Mat Brewster — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:53:55 EDT

After a break that defies explanation, the Random Shuffle is back, and badder than ever.
After an incredibly long break, the Random Shuffle is back. Each week (or whenever I darn well feel like it, apparently) I put my music collection on shuffle mode and talk about the songs that come up. I'm less interested in giving a simple review of each song than I am in the personal emotions and memories these songs conjure. I prefer to...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, 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. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Random Shuffle - The Cure, David Grisman Quintet, and Smokey Robinson

Mat Brewster — Wed, 23 May 2007 00:55:17 EDT

“Just Like Heaven” – The CureFrom Greatest Hits – AcousticDoes anyone remember the days of scrambled television? Growing up all the cable stations that we weren’t subscribed to (HBO, Showtime etc.) and all the pay-per-view movies we had not purchased were scrambled in such a way as to make you not want to watch them. The images came out in negatives, and often the picture was split into pieces. The idea, of course, was that no one in their right mind would actually want to watch television in this manner. The idea was often wrong. I used to watch all manner of programs in this way. I can specifically remember watching the first 48 Hours in this manner. The audio remained good, so I got most of the jokes, and could figure out what was going on, and occasionally the image was unbroken enough to actually see what was happening. There were also, I must admit, a few late night fumblings watching some adult pay-per-view. You couldn’t see much, but if you squinted right every now and again you might see a negative of a nipple. For a pubescent teenager this was sometimes enough.During the early '90s, when alternative suddenly became a musical buzzword, The Cure did an acoustic pay-per-view special. To say I was a sullen, depressed teenager seems a little beyond the point because aren’t all teenagers sullen and depressed? The Cure, of course, are the poster band for sullen, depressed teenagers the world over. So, of course, I watched the special. And of course, I watched it in the negative, scrambled version. It was a darn good show, even if Robert Smith looked like some kind of space alien. Come to think of it, maybe I could see him better than I thought.“Track 02” – David Grisman QuintetFrom 04/11/99 Disk 1Now “Track 02” isn’t actually the name of this song. I’m sure it has an official, proper name, the thing is, no one seems to know it. The majority of Grisman’s songs do not contain lyrics, and so you cannot use words to identify the music. Live, the DGQ uses a lot of improvisation and thus the songs don’t necessarily sound like they do on the studio albums.The show list on etree.org is also silent in terms of song names. This is a database ran by thousands (or tens of thousands) of fans that basically has information on every bootleg of every concert ever played in the last hundred years. The fact that no one has updated the show with a single name says a lot.I once even contacted some of Grisman’s own people asking if they had any set list information. They replied that they don’t keep track of the songs played, but that if I wanted to send them a copy of the tapes, they’d be happy to identify them for me. And there we have it – Track 02.Whatever you want to call it, this is a fine tune. The David Grisman Quintet has been creating its own mix of “Dawg Music” for several decades. It is an odd mix of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, calypso, and Spanish music that comes out in the strangest and most beautiful of ways. There really is no way to describe how it sounds, but it is always worth checking out. Especially that guitarist. Man he cooks up something exquisite.“I Second That Emotion” – Smokey Robinson and the MiraclesFrom Songs That Inspired The MotownI attended exactly one semester of graduate school. I moved to Abilene, Texas for such a thing, and while on the drive there I imagined the entire state rising up to sing me Lyle Lovett’s “That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas,)” but mostly nobody noticed my arrival at all. Texans are a strange brew, and that’s all I’ll say about them.There was a beautiful, kind woman who worked at my apartment office and we became close friends. Initially I made up small complaints so I could drop by and talk to her, then I gave up all pretense and just started stopping by the office and sitting for a spell.She’d invite me to dinner, or to help her make popcorn at the local hockey rink, all the while making sure I understood it was nothing but a friendship kick. I didn’t care, it was someone to talk to and I really needed that.She had a two-year-old son who was just precious. We also became fast friends and would play together for long hours. Once I had to use her facilities, and I could hear him outside saying, “Matchew, Matchew, where are you?” My heart is still broken.“I Second that Emotion” became a little two-and-a-half minute piece of ecstasy during this time. It is a song of impenetrable joy. You simply cannot listen to it and not feel happy. I used to write my little apartment friend sticky notes for fun, and one of them read, “‘I Second That Emotion’ makes Mat the happiest.” And it still does.Plus, it is great fun to agree with someone by saying “I second that emotion.”

Mat Brewster is an American stumbling as an ex-pat through the streets of Shanghai. He is helped by his lovely wife and an enormous piles of bootleg DVDs. He is chronicling his adventures in the Shanghai Diaries and musing on pop culture at The Midnight Cafe.

Random Shuffle - Bright Eyes, Mellowdramatic Wallflowers, and Jewel

Mat Brewster — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:17:44 EDT

“Tourist Trap” – Bright EyesFrom NPR's World CafeI woke up this morning to find several messages in my inbox about the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to deny NPR’s appeal over the increased royalty fees for Internet radio. I am not a political writer, and this isn’t a political piece so I’ll let the discussion of that decision go on elsewhere. What I will say is that the thought of losing such great stations as Radioparadise, and Pandora saddens and angers me a great deal. Real world radio for the most part sucks. When I travel the 600 odd miles to my parents' house and hear the exact same songs played by DJs who sound exactly alike with the same jokes then I know radio ain't got no soul no more. To be able to click my mouse and hear great, interesting, and unique music for free is a great pleasure. It will surely be missed.In protest of the decision I have been listening to NPR most of the day. After getting my fill of the tragedy at Virginia Tech I turned to their vast selection of music, and found this recent in-studio concert by Bright Eyes. I’ve not gotten around to buying their new album, but after hearing their songs played on Internet radio, I think I’ll have to go out tonight and do just that.“Rhetoric” - Mellowdramatic Wallflowers From Continental BreakfastGrowing up in small town Oklahoma, and not exactly being the hippest cat around, my scorecard with the ladies wasn’t all aces in those early years. About junior year a lovely lass named Ashley started attending the same church as the family and me. She was a sprite little pixie, with gorgeous eyes, and a smile that made a gymnast of my internal organs. And unlike all the other cute girls I knew at the time, she was friendly, kind, and willing to give me the time of day.I meticulously planned ways of asking her out. I couldn’t just ask her to dinner, no she was much too perfect for that. I needed something wonderful, something romantic and fun and unusual. When I learned that local band Mellowdramatic Wallflowers were playing a free set at the annual Mayfest in Tulsa, I knew this was the thing to bring true love.Biting my lip for courage, I made the call and asked her to come. I stressed that it was the Wallflowers playing as it was my cool card for indie credit. To my surprise she said yes, but was more excited over the entire festival and not just that silly band. I was in, a date – romance, love, and maybe a little something something. Okay, so technically it wasn't a real date as we were friends and there had been no implications of romance, but still a geeky guy can dream and if the romantic mood strikes, he can make a move.Then came my sister.My sister was (or I suppose she still is) two years younger than me, and at the time she was quite the opposite from myself. She was outgoing and stylish and popular at school. She used to tramp around the entire house looking for me when she got a phone call just to throw it in my face that she got a phone call. She also asked if she could go to Mayfest with Ashley and me. This was a challenge. Of course I didn’t want her to go, but I wasn’t sure how to keep her out of it. I was way too shy to tell her my romantic plans, and if I said no outright she would only run to mom and mom would say she could go. I couldn’t think of any way to explain to my sister (or my mom) that I didn’t want her to go so that I could be with this girl alone. If I said it was a date, mom would embarrass me and the sister might let that bit of info slip to Ashley and then I might face the dreaded “we’re just friends” speech.So, I let her go. We had a fun time, and I thought I saw the slightest tinge of regret when Ashley saw my sister, but I never got to find out what might have been for Ashley moved away not long after that event. The Mellowdramatic Wallflowers changed their name to the Admiral Twin after Bob Dylan’s son made a splash with his band, the Wallflowers, and then they fizzled out. But I still have their CD and periodically play it and remember the girl who might have been, had it not been for my sister."Adrian" - Jewel From Pieces of YouIt’s true that music can conjure up all sorts of memories and feelings. If Random Shuffle is about anything it’s about just that – the ability of music to transport oneself to specific times and places and even to various states of mind. This little sad folk number from Jewel’s first album, and really the entire album itself, reminds me of sitting on top of my bedroom desk, looking out the window during one lovely Sunday afternoon in my senior year of college. Beyond listening to these lyrics of love and hope and loss, my mind was also drifting into my future. Graduation and “real life” was coming up. I had some plans but the uncertainty was overwhelming. Out that window I could see my neighbors and friends walk past. Sometimes they would see me and wave hello, but mostly they were lost in their own worlds as I was lost in mind. I remember wondering where our lives would take us, and if I’d ever see them again, after we moved on. And now, looking back, I see that I have no idea where most of them are, and how they are doing. I’m not sure that Jewel helped out much, in fact I’d probably say her sentimental sadness did nothing but help me dig deeper into self-pity. I don’t really listen to Jewel much anymore, but she’s forever more tied to that Sunday afternoon, sitting there in the windowsill, watching the world pass by.

Random Shuffle - 04/12/07

Mat Brewster — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:45:15 EDT

"Some Enchanted Evening" - Ezio PinzaFrom Original Cast Album For about two and a half years I worked at a small, community dinner theatre. It was the type of place where there was never enough help – at the box office, building sets, making costumes, or on the stage. I did a little bit of everything, all the time. Every summer we performed three shows – two big musicals book-ending a much smaller, more intimate comedy or drama. Them were fun, but amazingly busy times. It never failed that at some point during rehearsals for the big musicals, I would get a call. "Brewster, how would you like to be an actor?" There were never enough actors to fill out the chorus, and despite my rather unremarkable singing and acting ability, the director of the theatre needed me for a warm body (or in case of Big River, a cold one, as I played a corpse.) I would always agree, and was then locked into several weeks of nightly rehearsals followed by three or four weekends of performance. At the end of each show, tired of having no semblance of a life but the theatre, I would swear off ever performing again. Yet, inevitably, the next show would come and I would get the call, and I would agree to help. One summer we produced a performance of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic, South Pacific. It was a special show for many reasons, but even more so for landing a scholarship student from Carnegie Melon to create our set designs. And they were incredibly interesting and beautiful designs, but a pain in the butt to build. One particular Holy Terror of a piece was the show, built specifically for the scene in which Nellie sings the ever popular "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair." Because it was only needed that for one time, it had to be moved on and off stage between scenes. Being a small, community theatre, our stage was not of the best design. There were no wings to speak of, and so everything not needed on stage at that moment, had to be stored backstage, in a series of small halls. The only way onto the stage from there was through two very small doors. The shower just barely fit. Every night myself and one other stagehand had to cajole the shower through the door, across a stage littered with tropical plants and other tripping hazards, flip the shower to its proper position and zip back off the stage in about 30 seconds, all in pitch blackness. Did I mention the shower was built mainly of bamboo? Little sharp bamboo that continually jabbed me in the mouth, nose, and eyes. I hated that blasted shower and joyfully destroyed it once the show was over. I kind of miss the theatre now though. As exhausting, time consuming and irritating as it was. “Feelin' Good Again” – Robert Earl Keen From Walking DistanceFor whatever weird, psychotic reason, when I'm feeling a bit blue I tend to fill my listening ears with songs that are likewise sad, lonely bastards. It would seem logical to listen to upbeat, happy tunes that might make me a little more chipper, but I suppose I like to wallow in my own sadness.Even songs like this one, whose lyrics are ultimately hopeful, but contain music tinted with the soft, cold blues, get repeated listens that only serve to unleash the unhappy. This is, in fact, one of my favorite songs to wallow in. It's lyrics speak of someone coming back from something harrowing, something horrid, something sad, but making it through, and after long last feeling good again. It is full of hope and happiness, but with a hint of sorrow fluttering just out of reach. My life, like everyone else's, I suppose, has been filled with its share of happiness and sadness. When I've gone through rough patches, I have been able to sing along with Robert Earl, looking forward to the day I will feel good again. And when things are more bright, I can also sing with a remembrance of those harder times. "Happier" – GusterFrom 11/19/2005 One of the things I love about bootlegs is their ability to capture the spontaneity, exuberance, and special-ness that makes up a concert. In a good live show, there is a certain energy, an X-factor if you will, that cannot be defined, nor really found in the studio. "Happier" opens this Guster concert, and though I've never heard it before, it has done nothing but make me very happy this day. The audience clearly knows the song very well, and they almost overtake Adam Gardner’s vocals they are singing so loudly. When they aren’t singing, they are cheering, screaming, and shouting for sheer joy.While sometimes too much audience noise can completely destroy a bootleg recording, here it only emphasizes the glory of the song. It is nothing but happiness and light.Want to share in the effervescence? Head on over to the archive and have a listen, then download it for posterity.