Something Like Sound

Just got back from Austin, where it’s in the mid-70′s and sunny (while it’s cold and dark in Denver). I have at least 14 large assignments/tests in the next 21 days in addition to traveling for job interviews and the holidays. The other writers are busy too. We’ll see you over Christmas break.

Local music-arts collective Hot Congress has continued to make its mark on the Denver music scene. Most recently, the group curated a weekly residency at the Meadowlark, showcasing H.C. bands (and others) every Thursday in November. November 18th (tomorrow) will mark the final week in the series (since not many people would be keen on going to a show during Thanksgiving). The final showcase will serve as a tour-kickoff for Fingers of the Sun and an EP release party for Amazing Twin (formerly Old Radio).

As someone quite familiar with Old Radio, hearing the new EP reminds me why I started listening to the group in the first place. After hearing demos for “A Void” (now called “Cambridge Mile”) and “Asleep At The Wheel,” I recall thinking “These are good, but still embryonic.” Upon listening to New Wives’ Tale, the songs took on a new life. A few old favorites (“Naked Girl, Part. 2″and the aforementioned songs) make appearances, along with several songs that had only been heard live. Overall, it’s clear that Amazing Twin took their time in getting the sound they were looking for- the EP is cohesive and well-mastered, but not over-produced.

I’ll update this post once the EP is available for download. In the meantime listen to EP-closer “Asleep At The Wheel” and enjoy a free download of the track.

Edit: You can now purchase an mp3 version of this record at CDBaby.

Download “Asleep At The Wheel” (right-click “save as”)

Time for another installment in “6 Songs!” This time I look at seminal indie-jammers Built To Spill.

Built To Spill at the 2009 Westword Music Showcase // photo by Bengsoon Chuah

1. Strange: Of all the songs written by Built To Spill, there are none that can be considered more “radio friendly” than “Strange.” It’s not too long, it follows a pretty standard composition and has enough fuzzed-out guitar and noodling to capture the Built To Spill sound.

2. Carry The Zero: Keep It Like A Secret may be my favorite BTS record. The reason why: “Carry The Zero” represents all that was good about the late 90′s alternative music scene. It might also be considered radio-friendly and spawned its own EP.

3. I Would Hurt A Fly: There have been a lot of comparisons made between BTS and Neil Young. Both have produced anthemic guitar ballads that stretch the bounds of normalcy. Case-in-point: “I Would Hurt A Fly,” a tune that builds and works toward a great bit of guitar work.

4. Car: “If I don’t die or worse I’m gonna need a nap.” In the early 90′s, before phraseology like “emo” or “indie” became pervasive, there was “Car.” It’s a song about self-reflection in light of being stoned. This song served as inspiration for many turn-of-the-century alternative acts including blog-favorite Brand New.

5. Sidewalk: This track stands as more proof that Keep It Like A Secret really was a great record. With more energy than single “Carry The Zero,” this tune had the appeal of punk-esque drumming and more delightfully fuzzy guitars.

6. Revolution: From their first record Ultimate Alternative Wavers, “Revolution” channels more Crazy Horse with an unabashed lo-fi feel. While BTS has progressed quite a bit in the last ~20 years, it’s still refreshing to hear where they all started from.

For those of you who aren’t geeks, the title of this post may just look like some fancy formatting. For those who known C++ (or similar); you got the joke. In either case I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone out there in American internetland that today is election day! So go out and vote!

I read books too. This week I felt inspired to do a review of this title- read it in-print at Oredigger.

The internet is a fascinating thing. With the rise of quick virtual communication, collaborative efforts have become the norm as people from every part of the global society now have the ability to work together. This momentum was captured by the enterprising creators of the web-comics Dinosaur Comics (Ryan North) and Wondermark (David Malki!) for a new anthology of short stories titled Machine of Death: A collection of stories about people who know how they will die.

Submissions for the book project came from numerous writers and artists (each story has a unique picture inspired by the specific plot). What is remarkable about Machine of Death is that despite the broad range of writing styles and story-types, the common cannon of the machine’s role remains consistent.

Basically, the premise is that a machine has been invented that can tell a person how they’re going to die based on a blood sample, although the results are usually fairly vague. A slew of moral, scientific, and social dilemmas arise as the machines become pervasive throughout society. Each story is a unique reflection on this premise; some are dark and deeply thought provoking while others are quite funny. The chapter titled “HIV Infection from Machine of Death” is short and hilarious: ‘’Well,’ I thought, ‘That sucks.’”

This book is a must-read for any student of engineering and is highly reminiscent of the technocratic-satire popularized by the late Kurt Vonnegut. While the writing styles are incredibly easy to read, the content is by no means an “easy read.” Each story will present the reader with plenty of questions about the role of technology in society and room for reflection on how science can influence philosophy.

Utilizing the power of internet-based collaboration once again, Malki and North encouraged people to purchase their book en-masse from Amazon on one specific day. The result was a 14,000% increase in rank and a #1 spot on the book-sales website for the day- an impressive feat by any means. However, as would be expected, the distribution methods for Machine of Death have been anything but normal. On November 2, a companion podcast to the book will begin publishing episodes and the entire manuscript will be available as a freely distributable Creative Commons-licensed PDF through www.machineofdeath.net.