Here’s a list of the music I listened to in the car over Thanksgiving weekend. Better than trying to think up an arbitrary top-10 list, it gives you a snapshot of some of the things I’m tuned in to. Identifiable trends: Minneapolis bands, jazz, New York-scene rock, hip-hop.
MPLS->Crete
Heiruspecs “A Tiger Dancing”
John Coltrane “Giant Steps”
John Vanderslice – mix
Bright Eyes “LIFTED or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground”
JV All*stars “Distance”
Miles Davis “Kind of Blue”
Olympic Hopefuls “The Fuses Refuse to Burn”
The Roots “Things Fall Apart”
Crete->MPLS
Dredg “el Cielo”
A Is Jump “My Ice-Fingered Ghost”
Buddy Holly – mix of early songs
Interpol “Turn on the Bright Lights”
Joel Raney “Celebrate the Season” (WCC’s Xmas Cantata – I am the orchestra drummer)
Miles Davis “Kind of Blue”
The Who “Who’s Next”
The Walkmen “Bows and Arrows”
Do you ever listen to your own music? In what capacity do you usually do so (just for fun, travelling music, analyzing for new/better performances, etc.)? Does it feel odd to hear yourself coming out of a set of speakers?
I’ve found the echoes EP and h&s Comets (especially “Blues or Astroblue?”) to be pretty good for in the car, and I pop them in often whenever I head down to Denver for whatever reason.
-JT
I shouldn’t feel awkward about saying I listen to my own music, but it is, a little bit. Mostly, I like listening to Shacker – I have this dual relationship with Shacker, where on the one hand I’m in the band and the drummer and the studio guy who made our records. On the other hand, I’m probably Cory’s biggest fan ever (except for Carl, his dad). So just like I get a hankering for Blacklight Sunshine or JVA or Woven or Afghan Whigs, sometimes I just need to hear Shacker. It’s really comforting in a way.
I listen to echoes once in a great while. I don’t listen to h&s. I love those songs, but our recordings/performances don’t compare to what we can do now, so I hear too much of the “what-could-have-been” and not enough of the “what-is” when I hear h&s.
Thanks for commenting JT – glad you’re reading. You can look forward to more rock goodness in the future – Sally Ride is coming, new echoes, and eventually Eschatron (which is the song cycle built on Cloud 9 itself) -h
So I guess the inevitable “next question” is: have you thought about re-recording old h&s albums to capture the feeling of what you want now? I realize that would be some sort of epic project given the distance between you and Scott, but I’d be interested to hear the difference between “what is” and “what could have been.”
-JT
After posting I realized I only got through your first questions, so briefly… In what capacity do I listen? A combination of all. Shacker’s 2nd and 3rd records are because I like the music. echoes, the same, though infrequently. I’m mostly critical of h&s, though I can enjoy it once in a great while. Does it feel odd? Less and less with time – and with more and more experience making myself/others sound GOOD.
As far as re-recording h&s, of we’ve thought of it and talked of it and yes, it would be epic. I’m interested in doing that – but I also continue to write, so re-recording old material also can seem like not a good use of my limited music-time. Probably, bits and pieces will come out in different ways. I’m planning a new recording of 8 tracks from “signs” as one-take acoustic performances, though I may insert some of the original sax work and found-sounds back into it. Scott’s given the OK, and it will be out someday as an echoes project, “signs in winter.” I’m also planning a short acoustic echoes EP, with a couple “nickel EP” tracks and maybe one from “comets” and a new one or two. Also in the “someday” list is a re-release of the h&s “b.sides” in .m4a format, and I think I’ll re-mix and master the whole thing – same recording, but with a new sound. TMI yet? When it comes to EPs and albums, I have a million ideas, plus working with Cory’s music and others (Bike – coming soon)… -h