Results tagged “Music” from Mike Sager
I just accepted a new job up in Boston. It's a little bit surreal that I went for it, especially considering how much I liked my old job. But ultimately, I have dreamed of living in Boston for many years, and this has given me the opportunity to actually do it while staying within my chosen career path. There have been several times in my life where I've picked up and moved to another city - I honestly didn't think I'd be doing that for a while again. And yet - here's my chance to live in a place I love... I couldn't say no.
My family is from Boston originally, and I grew up a Red Sox fan since there was no team in DC. I wish to emphasize that the Sox have been in my blood my entire life - I was too young to be crushed in 1986, but I balled in 2003 when Aaron Fuckin' Boone hit that damn homerun off Wakefield. I understand that Boone is very personable, but I still booed him every time he can to bat when he was on the Nationals last year. Loudly. People would stare at me and not understand. I didn't care. Grrr... I was wearing my Sox hat last night, and a friend of mine from Philly accused me of being a bandwagon fan - it was a friendly jab, but I let him know in no uncertain terms that I have always lived and died with the Red Sox - and anyone who's known me a long time knows that.
As I'm wrapping up here in DC, I've been taking more pictures with my relatively recently purchased Nikon D60 - hence the photos that I've posted on this post that are completely unrelated to Boston. Just wanted to add some imagery to the entry.
So apparently new albums by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and National Skyline came out on my birthday, and I was COMPLETELY UNAWARE!!! I have since rectified this, and loaded them onto my iPod courtesy the Amazon Music Store. Apple's decision to charge me to remove DRM from music I've already purchased has made me decide that all of my music purchasing from this point forward is happening from Amazon. And yes, I buy my music.
I'm back from NYC - it was a very nice break. Despite the bus getting delayed due to Pope-related traffic.
I had less of an agenda for the final day I was there - which led to a quick stop at the New York Transit Museum, listening to Beatles songs on my iPod at Strawberry Fields, people watching in Union Square, and drinks with a bunch of my friends from the Israel excursion (I've missed you guys so much!)
A friend of mine pointed me to a site called Muxtape - where you can upload MP3s to make an online mix tape of sorts. Ah, the lost art of the Mix Tape. So I went ahead and posted a Muxtape at msager.muxtape.com.
Finally, many of you still talk about Mike's Rules for Dating Nice Dudes (yet nobody comments here - only in Facebook...). My friend Lola pointed me to another blog post that goes along well with the dating guidelines - The Nerd Handbook from Rands in Reprose.
Hell. Yeah.
Go buy This Gift right now.
http://www.sonsanddaughtersloveyou.com/
They're coming to Rock N' Roll Hotel in March. I already purchased my tickets.
Mentor Tormentor has a unifying feel throughout the album, which I can almost best describe as a sort of constant energy level. Certainly the songs rise & fall, but their is a continuous feel from the first song to the last song - when intentional (which I believe it is here), this is a sign of a great producer and great mastering work.
The instrumentation is deceptively deep - only upon repeated listens do you pick up on all the various melodies and counter-melodies being played in the background. Lots of solid guitar & piano work, and two vocalists who back each other up in a fashion not often seen since the rock n' roll of the '60s.
Standout tracks for me include Happy Alone, as I am always a sucker for a female-voiced mid-tempo rock song, and Gonna Break Into Your Heart - with it's clever arrangement, and poppy chorus.
