Yet another round-up of albums I won’t review. No real excuse, save for lack of enthusiasm. It’s really easy to write enthusiastically about something you really, really like or something you really, really can’t stand. It’s hard to write about things that don’t actually illicit a reaction, even worse, reactions that could go either way.
the brilliant green is set to release a new single on Dec. 12, so says Bounce.com. The title of the single has not yet been determined, but the new song has been described as a medium-tempo ballad to match the winter season. The band’s reunion commemorates its 10-year anniversary. The single "Stand by me" was released in September.
ZAZEN BOYS releases a new single titled "I Don’t Wanna Be With You" in December, so says Bounce.com. Details on the new single are forthcoming, but it’s expected to include new ZAZEN BOYS bassist Yoshikane Sou Yoshida Ichiro.
UPDATE [10/31/07 18:16 pm]: CD Japan sent an e-mail stating Dec. 5 as the single’s release date.
Last month, I had 43 downloads remaining in my eMusic quota which I forgot to use. I’ve already complained about having too much choice, and part of the reason those 43 downloads went to waste was because I wanted to catch up on what I have before I get any more. But that’s just not how eMusic rolls.
I didn’t purchase much music in September, but this past week, I went on a binge. I haven’t had time to listen to everything, but I wanted to note them now to figure out later what I want to write about in greater detail.
Like my review for NUMBER GIRL’s SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT, my original review for Shiina Ringo’s Muzai Moratorium didn’t have much depth, and I really didn’t know what I was talking about. And like the podcast for SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT, this show is an attempt to flesh that review out. I’m so glad I never published the original version of this podcast — the script for this show was edited many, many times before I ended up with the show you hear here.
Some notes:
Songs featured:
A new Utada Hikaru song, "Stay Gold", made its debut Oct. 1 on a commercial for Kaou Hair Care, so says Bounce.com. At the moment, there are no plans to release the song as a single. Utada met with producers in New York City to discuss the direction of her next English-language album, according to a post in her blog.
CD sales this year took a pretty dramatic hit, and it’s reaching a point where the bogeyman of online piracy can’t be entirely blamed. Customers have gotten smarter, and artists? I just get the sense everyone is so freaked out by the changes in the distribution model that artists are just phoning it in.
It was tough to find something to like in 2005. I’m getting that sense in 2007.
With the third quarter now done, I figure it’s time to update the Favorite Edition 2007 list. Still not much change from quarter to quarter, and I’m not fired up about the fall release schedule either.
Cocco’s limited edition single, "Dugong no Mieru Oka", will be reissued for general release on Nov. 21, according to an e-mail I received from CDJapan. Coupling tracks for the single include "Never ending journey (radio edit)", "Heaven’s Hell (Live at NHK ‘Natsu no Uta’)" and "Okashi to Musume (Radio Session at FM802)".
After I discovered John Zorn’s Naked City, I wanted to explore the works of its individual members. I assumed their own albums would sound like Naked City. That wasn’t the case with Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvitz. I bought a number of albums by both, and I have to admit I was kind of bored by them.
But then I stopped expecting Naked City and listened to them as individuals. Horvitz’s music grew on me to the point where I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a fanboy. His work is so varied, I could — and probably might — spend a few more podcasts exploring them. Pigpen most closely resembles Naked City, and V as in Victim is the band’s tightest album.
Songs featured:
Exploring the Amazon MP3 downloads
Honolulu wasn’t a hotbed of indie rock when I was growing up — I don’t think it’s a hotbed of indie rock even now — but to its credit, it did have room for Tower Records and Jelly’s Comics and Music. The stores stocked mostly major label product, and what post-punk music was available were on the majors.
As my appetite for music grew, I developed a sense of what labels were more in tune with my taste than others. More times than not, the bands I liked were somehow linked to WEA. My ultimate geek dream was to work for Nonesuch Records. Actually, it still is. Before it was blinked out of existence, I would have wanted a gig at Elektra.
Warner Bros. Music Group is still holding out on the digital right management issue, so as a result, the "music of my youth" is not available as Amazon MP3 downloads. Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. seems to be dragged kicking and screaming into a world without DRM, but then again, Warner isn’t on top of the world anymore.
When it was, boy did it have a roster.