T3S Music Blog

What I’ve Been Up To

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:31:36 +0000

So I haven’t really posted anything here in half a month or so. There probably should be a good reason for that, but there isn’t. I just haven’t felt the need to write anything, and therefore I have been M.I.A. for a bit. One thing I have been doing a lot of since I last posted however, is listening to music. A lot of it. So I think I should probably update you all on what I have been listening to as I try and get back in the swing of writing here.

As of late, the three major bands that have been in my rotation are Of Montreal, Radiohead, and Bon Iver. Of Montreal’s 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? has truly captivated me, and sucked me into Kevin Barnes’ world. That album is amazing, and has motivated me to listen to more of his stuff, and right now I’m giving Satanic Panic in the Attic a few listens through, and so far it is just as amazing.

Radiohead has also been a big part of the last couple week’s listening. To be specific, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, and In Rainbows. All three are fantastic. In Rainbows is great even on the first listen through, but for the others you will really have to give them a few listens through to fully enjoy and appreciate how good of an ambient-rock band Radiohead really is. (In other news, they are working on a new album right now!).

Finally, Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago has been in heavy, heavy rotation. Every time I listen through it, I begin to like every song even more. The songs that once I thought were filler, turn into a great addition to the album on the next listen through. I have listened to it enough to the point where there isn’t a bad song on that album. They are all amazing and I love every single one of them. I would deem this album probably my favorite of 2008, and a must-have album. Period.

So I guess this is the update. I’m still alive, and I’m still listening to new stuff. I’ll try and start posting regularly again, but it just has been hard with the other stuff going on in my life. We’ll see how it goes.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP Review

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Bon Iver first caught my attention with his 2008 release “For Emma, Forever Ago”. The album was one of the best of the year in my opinion, and many publications felt the same way. Justin Vernon, the writer and composer of all the music, spent three months in a cabin in northern Wisconsin to write the majority of the album. For Emma, Forever Agp’s notable feature was Vernon’s use of overdubbed vocals, giving the songs a loud and powerful vocal presence.

Blood Bank is almost an extension of For Emma, Forever Ago. In an analogy Vernon himself made, For Emma, Forever Ago is the cold, and Blood Bank is the warmth. Blood Bank is a four song long EP, which begins with the title track, Blood Bank. This song would have easily been one of the best on For Emma, Forever Ago. The sound threw me right back into the Bon Iver style, and it is just a brilliant song. The second song, Beach Baby, again is another song which could have easily been on the previous album. Although not as striking as Blood Bank, it is a slow folk number.

The third song however, ‘Babys’, is when Blood Bank begins to separate itself from For Emma, Forever Ago. It begins with a striking piano, which then becomes almost an Animal Collective-esque looping instrumental piece. Eventually Vernon’s voie comes in to warm things, and the song closes loud with the entrance of a guitar. Finally, the EP ends with a song called ‘Woods’. Woods is probably the strangest song on the album, but it was definitely my favorite. It is a largely a-capella song, which starts with just two lines of heavily auto-tuned vocals from Vernon. As the song progresses, more overdubs are added until the song becomes an epic a-capella masterpiece. It will knock you off your feet.

I think Bon Iver has followed up on For Emma, Forever Ago with a very solid release. Although two or three of the songs could easily have been on the first release, it is always good to get more material from Vernon, and Woods is just a must-listen song. I highly recommend you drop the $4 for this EP.

Sample: Freekbass - Junkyard Waltz

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:13:47 +0000

I found Freekbass by searching through recent news of possibly my favorite guitarist: Buckethead. In one article, it mentioned his collaboration with Freekbass, and therefore I had to go check out who Freekbass was. It was a pain in the ass to find that out, mainly due to the fact that despite having three or four albums out, Freekbass doesn’t even have a Wikipedia article. Their iTunes releases have two or fewer reviews, and there is no trace of their albums on any torrent or peer-to-peer sharing site. I decided to buy their most recent album, Junkyard Waltz, off of iTunes. To say the least, I was pretty blown away. I haven’t heard music quite like this in a while. Freekbass is modern funk, and it is awesome. You are just going to have to take a listen to this song because I am totally addicted.

Freekbass - Junkyard Waltz

Merriweather Post Pavilion Review

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:30:07 +0000

Ok so I am finally reviewing this album, after listening through multiple times. Let me start by saying that the only thing that I heard about this album before I got it, was that it was going to be a more “dance popish” album than Animal Collective’s previous albums. Let me first completely trash that and say that although some electronic danceish sounds have been added, this album is undoubtedly a Animal Collective album. Merriweather Post Pavilion sounds like Animal Collective. Animal Collective sounds damn good. Merriweather Post Pavilion is a great album.

As you listen through you will hear the familiar sounds of looped synth sounds and the familiar reverberated vocal style that the band has often used. Yes, there is definitely more of a electronic pop sound to the album, but no human being could dance (well, I guess no human being could dance well) to this album. The chorus’ hit you hard, the verses are eerie and spot on. I don’t want to delve too far into how this album sounds because I want you all to listen to it for yourself.

Again, I cannot stress how Animal Collective this album sounds. You are probably thinking, “well duh, it’s Animal Collective, of course it will sound like them” - but I was lead into this album thinking they were headed in a new direction, and my sources could not have been more wrong. When you start listening to this album, you will know exactly who it is, and you will start loving it. The entire album blends so well together both it its overall sound, and in the short clips of rain or puddles or other earthy sounds that link the songs into 55 continuous minutes of Animal Collective.

Download it / Buy it. Now. Play it through in full and enjoy. This is just another great album from Animal Collective that needs to be listened to.

(I don’t think I will be rating albums on a numbered scale, because I’d rather just try and articulate whether I like the album or not, rather than assign a number to it.. thoughts?)

T3S MusiCast #3: Merriweather Post Pavilion Edition

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:22:21 +0000

The T3S MusiCast is back despite a week off or so. This week’s edition is very straight forward: Merriweather Post Pavilion. The entire album. Fifty five minutes of brand new Animal Collective, not even in stores for another week. I also have a review of the album coming soon, but for now here it is for all of you to take a listen for yourself if you don’t already have it (torrents are awesome?).

As per usual, click the play button below to stream the episode from your browser right now, or right click and “save as” the download link to save the episode to your computer to put on your iPod or whatever. As always, enjoy :).

Sample: Bass Communion - Bliss

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:48:58 +0000

I’ve decided to veer off course from my usual postings to sample you all with some great ambient/atmospheric music from one of Steven Wilson’s side projects, Bass Communion. Bass Communion is a largely underground ambient drone group who have released I think around seven albums, of which only one is available on iTunes. This song, Bliss, comes from the album titled “Atmospherics”. I was debating whether or not to post a song from Atmospherics, due to the fact that the songs are only 2-4 minutes long, when typical Bass Communion songs are 10+ minutes. However, Bliss does in fact give you a three or so minute taste of the band. If you like it, I highly recommend you try and find the full album, as ambient atmospheric music should always be listened to in full.

As always, enjoy :).

Bass Communion - Bliss

January 11th Bus Playlist

admin — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:54:06 +0000

Hey gang. Sorry that I haven’t been posting as of late. I’ve been pretty busy with college things. Anyways, I’ve decided to post my most current playlists from time to time, to show you guys what I am currently listening to. Here is a playlist I made on the bus yesterday on the way to school. If you haven’t heard of any of these songs or artists, I suggest you check them out on Grooveshark (just enter the song name into the search to listen).

– Artist > Song Name –

Dispatch > The General
Say Anything > A Walk Through Hell
K’naan > Strugglin’
Blitzen Trapper > Sleepy Time in the Western World
Guster > What You Wish For
TV on the Radio > Crying
Cut Copy > Lights and Music
Elbow > Grounds for Divorce
God is an Astronaut > Shadows

Good range of genres, Dispatch and Blitzen Trapper providing my daily fill of folky rock, K’naan my new favorite hip hop artist, some alternative, and finishing up with God is an Astronaut, a great post-rock band from Ireland. Enjoy :).

“I’d walk through hell for you, let it burn right through my shoes, these soles are useless without you.”

T3S MusiCast #2 - Guitar Solo Edition

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:06:26 +0000

The second ever T3S MusiCast (woah, a name!) is here. For this 10/30/08 edition, I decided to make it a guitar solo episode. It mainly consists of older music, so it is a little out of the ordinary, but I think you guys will enjoy it. The episode clocks it at just over 50 minutes. Here is the track list:

Click the play button below to play it in your browser, or you can also right click the link and “save as” to save the episode directly to your computer on the “download” button to put on your iPod or whatever. It is also available in the iTunes music store in the podcast section. As always, enjoy :).

Five Songs I Can’t Stop Listening to

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:55:37 +0000

I go through at least an album a day. That said, there are definitely songs that I can’t get away from. Songs that no matter how much new stuff I have to listen to, something inside me wants to listen again and again. I wouldn’t call them my “favorite songs” because I don’t believe in having favorite songs … there is too much music in the world to have favorites.

These five songs are some of my recent keepers. Recent songs that I have stuck with day to day. In no particular order:

Atmosphere - Sunshine

Bon Iver - Creature Fear

Portugal. The Man - My Mind

The National - Fake Empire

City and Colour - Sleeping Sickness

Hopefully you’ll have time to take a listen to all of them. They cover a pretty wide array of genres, Atmosphere being hip hop, Bon Iver and City and Colour being folky rock, and Portugal. The Man and The National being indie rock. As always, enjoy

T3S Music Cast #1 - Winter Episode

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:29:57 +0000

Here is the first ever weekly edition of the new T3S Music Cast! This episode is all (or mostly) winter themed music. Here is the track list:

The episode clocks in at 40 minutes, 26 seconds. Below is a streamable version. Right click and save as the download button if you are interested in downloading the episode directly to your computer.