Tin Man

- Bryan

Vince Guaraldi Trio, "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

There is no other music that gives me that warm feeling the holidays are supposed to represent than the jazzy tunage of The Vince Guaraldi Trio and the work they did for the Peanuts Charlie Brown Christmas. Obviously a jazz record as much as it is a Christmas classic, this album is remarkable in capturing the spirit of a Charlie Brown Christmas. Struggling to find the true spirit of Christmas in the 1965 tv special, Charlie Brown is accompanied by a beautifully melancholy score of tunes that are light hearted and tranquil, yet have a slight jazzy bight the wintery cold of the late december might bring. Its truly amazing that such timeless music can be created by only three people. On this Christmas Day, whatever amazing people you might be surrounded by, throw some of these tunes on, and I'll promise you the mood will be perfect for sharing good times and good spirits. Merry Christmas to all -Nick

and a personal favorite, cause its so lively and oh how I love skating with 2 fingers over beautiful people when this song comes on...

Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

So I've been really busy lately. I wish I had more time off from work but until the new year starts, I am out of personal and vacation time. Lately, I've been pre-occupied with trying to work on 'extra-curricular' activities while trying to balance my personal/work life. To look at something I've been recently working on, you can read anything on this page (http://www.adequacy.net/) to get an idea of the fruits of my labor. I also recently wrote stuff for a few other places but alas, I am probably done writing about music for the year. It's pretty sad really; I operate on a schedule, my close friends call me a task-man. And that means that music gets shuffled into a tight, neat schedule where I can evaluate a year and then move on. For now, it has to be like that - otherwise it's far too overwhelming - and plus it gives me a concrete excuse to say, "Hey, well I need to write about it." Whatever the case is, it'd be awesome to let loose, like on Black Swan (which if you haven't seen yet, please do) but even Natalie Portman gets tired right?

So with that, my personal top whatever of 2010 is almost over. I've mentioned before about listening to stuff and trying to grasp what I feel for it. Your own music loves/likes will surely be personal but I try not to make it entirely subjective because then, everything would be all about the emotionally moving stuff. Still, Broken Social Scene has been one of those steady loves that never seems to pale, when compared to other flickering lights. They're like that great girl that you can always turn to and know that she has all the right goods for you, instead of being damaged goods, haha. Bad jokes aside, I remember showing 2005's self-titled album to Nick a while back and he really liked what he heard. I had the new one on me for a while, the greatly titled Forgiveness Rock Record, and lately, it's hit a new shift for me. The sounds are still sprawling and I've never considered BSS to be an 'easy' band to listen to but man is this music good. "Sweetest Kill" is a downtrodden smooth ride that peels back the layers of the band's huge sounds to reveal an honest and genuine sound. Lead man Kevin Drew leads in with gorgeous lines like "All the time, we get by, trying to figure out our lives. Like a fade out." Definitely a stand out here.


I had almost entirely forgotten about this band and this new album until I finally realized how foolish I had been. I've been trying to make some kind of final list, maybe I can post that within the next few days. Sometimes I wish I had more time to just chill and live a casual life. I desperately miss when I could just go to school and jam out to music on the side. And I especially miss walking around the music stores in town and just grabbing a ton of music to lose myself in. Speaking of losing yourself, I was talking to an awesome girl yesterday and she mentioned something about her love for instrumental music, with tons of guitar. "Romance to the Grave" doesn't have 'tons of guitar' but it showcases BSS as one of the most musical bands still around. Beginning with tranquil shifts in strings and volume, the vocals come through with a dynamic presence. I remember eating up the huge walls of sound they achieved on previous albums and nothing changes on Forgiveness Rock Record - other than that cool name of course - it's probably just as good as their previous stuff. Maybe I'm biased since I've always liked them but there's not much to dislike here. - Bryan

Radiohead - True Love Waits

The basis of my love for Radiohead is probably Thom Yorke’s voice or the fact that, in my book at least, they are the most musical band of my time. And I remember falling in love with their words and music in my primitive years, when everything was forming inside of me – it’s like if we bonded but not really. Their lyrics always get a huge flack from haters that don’t seem to grasp the bigger picture: sure “All I Need” is a shattered lovelorn shout for attention but it’s also completely beautiful isn’t it? In many ways, Radiohead’s lyrics are some of the best I’ve ever heard and there will probably be no one greater for me – no matter how jaded or nostalgic they may imply to be.

“True Love Waits” was one of the few songs during the Kid A/Amnesiac sessions that spoke to me; and it didn’t even come out on either of those albums. It’s somewhat of a guitar ballad that features Yorke’s voice in prime position. Hard to believe this was going on in my head when I was nothing more than a punk high school kid because it’s pretty powerful and endearing. The twists are magnificent; it’s also depressing in many ways and entirely downtrodden. At the end, “don’t leave” is all he can say as he begs for her to stay. Nothing more or less than an outstanding song, just kind of feeling it. Here's an awesome version I found when they did MTV's "$2 series." – Bryan

John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band

I’ve still been on a Beatles/Lennon kick for the last few days and I knew I had this album in both CD and vinyl format for reasons other than just to be a trendy douchebag. The line-up is tight and lean with Yoko Ono being the fourth member adding “wind,” it’s the only post-Beatles album that features two Beatles on every single song (Ringo Starr and Lennon) and one of my all-time favorites. I remember hearing the individual songs on different greatest hits collections but I found a lot of them all on here, Lennon’s debut, Plastic Ono Band.

Part of the reason why it sounds to good to my ears, at least, is the fact that Starr is still playing drums on every single song here. Lennon definitely marks the occasion away from his Beatles days with pride (his full name “John Lennon” credited under every single song, the cover of just him and Ono) and still, he holds on a bit. The energy on “Remember” is tremendous and the clustered piano with sheer dissension is an amazing choice. Lennon asks if we remember and the music pulses with an intense pull. Right before “Love” it’s surely startling but the change of pace is excellent and the sequencing is one of the best aspects of Plastic Ono Band – everything just made sense.


I love how it starts with this harsh snarl “these freaks on the phone, won’t leave me alone…” before tearing into this blistering stomp. The music is so incredibly direct and the drive is on a physical ride for the best. I imagine bands like Queens of the Stone Age and others of similar style listening to this and being blown away. This came out in December 11 of 1970 so it sounds so fitting right now to hear it; but it’s crazy to imagine that Lennon had all of this music ready just months after The Beatles broke up. Everyone talked about how Lennon finally tackled his demons, denouncing everyone, “They can’t do you no harm to fell your own pain,” and it was justly poignant. Especially after the gorgeous swoon of “Hold on John,” “I Found Out” is a buzzing, freak-out gem of rock music.


I’m gonna get into some great hip-hop soon and hopefully write about it but Lennon was still in my mind and I’m blasting the record now so it made sense.- Bryan

John Lennon - I'm Only Sleeping/Love

I always solidified whatever thoughts I had about love with what John Lennon sings about on "Love." I think that there are so many arguments you could make about him being the best Beatle and I'm not sure if I even care, but "Love" was always the quintessential love song that was always genuine and never fake. I'm grateful for being able to grow up around such good music and I remember stealing Lennon's collection of hits from my dad to jam out to. "Love"'s simple piano melody and Lennon's voice are about as close to perfect as you could imagine. This song came out on his debut solo, Plastic Ono Band, and as I've been listening to that album a lot today, it still sounds vitally new. I still remember putting on the headphones and blasting the beginning just to be able to fully take in the quietness he was reaching for. The lyrics are so endearing and it's pretty special really.


Have you ever gone through your Beatles stage where you wanna find out who really wrote the song, who really sung the vocals and who really wanted it written to begin with? Sure, they had agreed on the Lennon/McCartney label long before but many songs were chiefly Lennon or chiefly McCartney. I always knew and felt "I'm Only Sleeping" as one of Lennon's song. The jangled melody allows the drums and bass to trip over each other and his words are so delectably easy to sing ("Please don't spoil my day, I'm miles away"), I could sleep all day. Revolver gets a lot of attention but this song just might be my favorite Beatles' song and it's a Lennon one, I'm sure of it. - Bryan

Gilles Peterson: The Brownswood Bubblers Series and Havana Cultura

The one driving force that inspired me to assemble a rickety ol' dj setup that I've been fooling around with for the past 5 years was Mr. Giles Peterson. Described as a globe trotting purveyor of all sounds soulful and inspired, Gilles Peterson is one of the most eclectically minded DJs I've ever heard. Based out of London, this Brit knows good music from all over the world, spanning every genre and era. Undoubtedly his love for record collecting and the immense collection he has amassed over the years is a major reason Peterson is one of my favorite DJs. What he may lack in technical ability on the 1's and 2's, he totally makes up for in song selection. He has the ability to drop an up tempo jazzy track obscure to all, like this one he remixed by Italian singer Raphael Gualazzi.....
and right when you think you figured out his musical palette, he flips this one on you....
A flat out, head bopping, spacefunk masterpiece from hip hop electro production duo Javelin.
Both these tracks can be found on his most recent release on the Brownswood Buubblers Series, (named after his record label) which is are all wonderful collections of up and coming soulful talent from all over the globe. This is off Volume Six

But the thing is, Gilles doesn't stop there, he can't because he's on a mission to open your ears to new and exciting sounds from all over the world. He recently produced an album of various artists displaying the emerging sounds in Cuba. Entitled "Havana Cultura". Gilles assembled an array of amazing Cuban musicians to record beautiful, new material. A stand out track has to be a cover of J Dillas classic hip hop track"Think Twice by Danay and Obsesion.

Lets hope Gilles doesn't stop traveling anytime soon, so keep the good music coming brother. -Nick

The Impossible Soul

I'm starting to get pretty drained lately. I guess I don't have that drive in me that I used to have and it's been severely lacking lately. Part of me wishes that I could do more and a part of me wishes to just let everything go and start new. Sometimes everything just seems sort of helpless really, almost impossible. And before I turn this into some kind of bad Darcy post (because at least his posts are well written, albeit super personal), I know that there is still music to be found.

I know I mentioned year-end lists earlier. I think I have been able to slowly get somewhere with the process but even that feels futile. Maybe because it's officially become work in some sense but that would just be an excuse. Anyway, I went to All That Music the other day and hauled home 3 records. One of them was Sufjan Stevens' latest LP - which I have exhausted here already. "Impossible Soul" is that album's last song, all 25+ minutes of it. It's a gripping story and definite closure to the hugely grandiose statements Stevens made with The Age of Adz. I recently got a jolt to relisten to the words when someone smart mentioned just how powerful the lyrics really are, until next time - Bryan