Come Join the Youth and Beauty Brigade

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - it's a really stupid thing to want to do." –Elvis Costello, amongst many others

I am glad to have been invited to this community, though as my opening quote may indicate, I am not quite sure how, exactly, I want to approach this. I guess the best way, I see, to start is at the beginning.

I was in sixth grade when I bought my first, of many, CDs. It was Ben Folds Five’s The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (If I were being completely truthful, I’d talk about my adolescence and its relationship to ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic albums, but that is all together too commonplace and not quite as influential as one would imagine.). Honestly, a lot of Reinhold Messner would go over my head until much later in my life. I was compelled to buy it because my friend Dan DeMaria (who continues to shape and influence the music I listen to) had shared with me an album that his cousin had shared with him: Ben Folds Five’s Whatever and Ever Amen. Although I did not recognize it then, there was a technical proficiency on that album that still amazes me. I was young and inexperienced, so I trusted in my friend’s musical tastes. Yes, it would be the first of many times that I would give it peer pressure.

From there, I would spend the next two or three years influenced by popular culture, buying albums of catchy radio singles. It was at this time, I also started playing the bass guitar. And while my teacher was more than patient with me, both in terms of the music I listened to and the infrequency with which I practiced, I also began to explore the back catalog of the classic rock greats.

By the time I was in high school, my lifelong friendship earned me a place in a four piece garage band. Though we were young and relatively inexperienced, I stand by my position of weak link of the band. Either way, though, it was fun. We played a few shows at talent shows, for parties, or just because we wanted our other friends to be impressed with us. As Dan became more and more invested the whole singer/songwriter aspect of our band and explored more and more of the local music scene, he was exposed to more and more new and lesser known work. And subsequently so was I. So that began a long journey down the proverbial rabbit-hole in a world that was simultaneously Do-It-Yourself and extremely collaborative.

In case you couldn’t tell where this was leading to, some would consider my music tastes as "mainstream indie hipster with a side of mainstream indie emo” or some variation on related words. Though, as many that try to write or think about music, I hate labels. I’ve already written several papers, in varying degrees of scholarly quality, about the ever increasing arbitrary-ness of musical labels and divisors. I think I will save the rest of this debate for another post though.

Those of you who know me, know I find a certain pride in being a little elitist in my choices of music. But also know that I am not opposed to guilty pleasures derived from either nostalgia or just plain good hooks (I mean dance parties need music you can dance to).

It is my intention to share with you the best of both newly emerging and staple classic music of what was once seen as ‘indie’ and is quickly blurring that line with ‘mainstream.’ I am self-depricating and may mock many musical stereotypes, especially ones that I am guilty of. I enjoy music through concerts, dance parties, and as a soundtrack to whatever I am doing. I try to avoid dance clubs, music explication, and lining up Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz. I am a big fan of Top 5 lists, and you are sure to see many from me. Here’s a couple now:
My Top 5 Desert Island Bands:
5. Rilo Kiley
4. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
3. Ben Folds Five
2. Death Cab For Cutie
1. The Decemberists

I’m sure I’ll explain my choices in another post, one that will, once again, reflect more upon me than the actual music.
5 Really Good Albums from 2007 (Though I am uncomfortable labeling them ‘Top 5’):
5. Radiohead – In Rainbows (I am pretty sure I would get kicked out of NYU if I didn’t mention them)
4. The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
3. The National – Boxer (Though I am critical of all the attention it’s getting, it’s not necessarily undeserved)
2. Bishop Allen – (As a high school and college student, I have a certain fondness for anything remotely related to TheSpark.com and, in a nutshell, this album is like Modest Mouse meets Mickey Mouse, all clever fun)
1. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin

So I hope you have an idea of my musical tastes, how I think, how I write, and if you’re interested in hearing more from me.

And, as a point of interest related to this whole notion of ‘indie’ music, Filter just ran an article about ‘Indie Music’ and ‘Indie Comedy’ with John Krasinski and The Shins (basically equating The Office to The Shins). And while I don’t agree with a lot of the content, it’s still a fun read because I would want to hang out with everyone involved in the interview (cross pimping: I also happen to run a newly emerging tv blog, for those interested).

“Some people talk about me like a revolutionary. That's nonsense; all I did was copy B.B. King.”
-Eric Clapton