Moroni's Review of Alex Clare's "The Lateness of the Hour"

When I first saw Alex Clare's photograph, my immediate thought was - the coolest ginger from the UK to croon soul music since Simply Red.  My teenage kids have a different interpretation of him, but it's pretty spot-on.  "Dubstep Tracy Chapman."

First of all, you should know that he is mostly straight forward jazz and soul, as is evidenced in his songs like "Hummingbird", but he also has a penchant for drum and bass, as well as dubstep.  It makes for an interesting combination.

Before getting this CD  - his debut "The Lateness of the Hour" - for Christmas, I only knew him for his single "Too Close", which is a really great song.  However, I didn't know the artist or the title.  I only knew it as that dubstep song from the Windows 8 commercial.  I was pleased when my eldest daughter left me a copy of the CD in my stocking.  Dad is always pleased with new music.

The album starts out great with a grinding grunge and reggae song called "Up All Night".  It kind of reminds me of Skindred.  But the song is kind of deceiving, because it is unlike any other song on the album.  The next song, "Treading Water", is more indicative of the rest of the album.  It starts out with his soulful crooning.  (Yeah, Simply Red was a good comparison.) Then the song is driven by an infectious drum & bass beat.  The next song is my favorite.  It is called "Relax My Beloved", and this song is indicative of why Alex Clare is different from other electronic artists.  The song is a pretty melody with a music box and chamber orchestra, but lashed forward by a heavy dubstep wobble bass. It is brilliant.  In fact many of the songs, like "Hands Are Clever", use dubstep as punctuation.

There are a few songs that are reminiscent of Fleet Foxes.  All in all, this is a pretty good album.  But is one that may have to grow on me.  And it is hard to say if it will.  Only time and several more listens will be able to tell me that.  But for now, I can say that this guy is an artist, and he is talented.  And you got to respect that.

Moroni's Review of Juan Magan's "The King of Dance"

Latin music is in my blood.  I couldn't get rid of it if I tried.  Growing up in central Arizona helped with that.  I didn't realize how deeply embedded it was in me until I moved to white bread Utah to go to college.  I definitely felt the absence of the latin culture that I had grown up around, had always been with me.  I can't help it.  I feel that rhythm when I hear it.  It's genetic.  I live in an area that has no Spanish-speaking radio stations, but, when I go down to Phoenix, as soon as I can pick up a radio station en español, the dial stops and stays there until I am on my way home, the signal turning into static.

I have been listening to Juan Magan singles all year.  In fact, this Spanish deejay has been pumping out singles for years and has never turned out an full studio album until now - "The King of Dance".  Listening to this album, there is not a single song that does not sink it's Spanish hooks into my blood, and I start moving involuntarily.  In fact, as I write this review, I am listening to the album right now, and I am literally bouncing as I type.  And that is the purpose of latin music - to get you moving.  Juan Magan does his job.

That said, like all latin music, every song kind of sounds the same.  Juan Magan has coined the phrase "electro latino", and that title kind of fits.  This album is clever melange of electro, house music, reggaeton, mambo, cumbia, some Dirty Dutch, and hip hop.  And even with all of those elements, it still all sounds the same.

And that is still not a bad thing.  Every song will have you dancing.  I guarantee it.

My only other complaint - Hey vato, lose the Auto-Tune.  It is fine once in a while, but not all the time, on every song!

Just about every song features a guest musician - Luis Lopez, Pitbull, Don Omar, Crossfire, El Cata, etc.  This album is a Latin All-Star effort.  The Don Omar song cracks me up, because the song is practically a re-write of Don Omar's hit "Danza Kuduro".  Oh wait, Don Omar's hit was just a remake of French-Portuguese artist Lucenzo's hit of the same name!  And now Omar owns the song!

The best songs are the opening track "Se Vuelve Loca"", the cumbia "Te Soñé", and the Pitbull song "Bailando Por El Mundo".  The last track "Bailando Por Ahi" is my favorite.  I wish that they had included the Spanglish version of that song with Crossfire.  That one is my preferred mix, but it is not found on this record.

This album will move you, but purely on the physical sense.  If you are looking for an album that will change your life or move the world, this is not it.  But it fun for a good 45 minutes.  And more fun to hit repeat.

Moroni's Review of deadmau5's "album title goes here"

The summer of 2011 was the summer of electronic music for me.  I was discovering and spinning all kinds of music.  deadmau5 is one of the artists that I played with heavy rotation.

Sure, deadmau5 can pump out club hits like "Ghosts n Stuff" or "Raise Your Weapon".  (The Grammy performance of the latter song this year stole the show, in my opinion.)  But the first time I listened to "Cthulhu Sleeps" off of his "4x4=12" album, I realized that deadmau5 is more than just a deejay, more than just a guy in a funny mouse hat.  He is a composer.  And by rights, he should be right up there with Mozart or Bach.  The undulating walls of sound that he creates are awe-inspiring.  (I hear that his live shows are pretty good, too.)  He is everything that Moby tried to be, but ultimately wasn't.

I recently downloaded his latest album, ">album title goes here<".  The album starts off with the pounding grind of "Superliminal".  On this track, deadmau5 does what he does best.  He takes two rhythms that aren't quite in sync and makes them revolve around each other, slightly discordant, and yet complimenting each other.  Another example of this trippy beat  manipulation/ Doppler effect is "Take care of the proper paperwork".  This is straight up acid house.

deadmau5 has made it clear that he dislikes dubstep as a genre - and with reason.  He transcends the genre.  He has been around for a while, something unusual in the electronica world.  In other words, he has been spinning long before the likes of Skrillex.  And yet he uses elements of dubstep, like the wobble bass.  But he uses them like tools to craft it into something of superb musicianship.

The next track is "Channel 42", done with Wolfgang Garter.  It is by far my favorite track on the album.  This is deadmau5 in his true form, and it certainly makes you want to get up and dance.  The next song is "The Veldt", and it sounds like Owl City.  I am not a huge Owl City fan.  My favorite songs are "Fn Pig", "There might be coffee", and "October".

I am somewhat disappointed with the collaborations.  "Professional Griefers" is okay, but just that.  The vocals are provided by Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance.  I had higher expectations for this song, especially since I am such a huge MCR fan.  I am also really into Imogen Heap, but I was fairly disappointed by "Telemiscommunications".  And "Failbait" with Cypress Hill - I had a hard time jus tgetting past the profanity.

But all in all, this is a great album, and another example of why I truly consider myself a Mau5head.

Moroni's Review of Django Django

My ten year-old daughter Sara browsed through my music, looking for stuff to put on the mp3 player she got for Christmas, she came across Django Django.  She wrinkled her nose.  "Sounds like old people music," she declared.

In a way, she is right.  Django Django does sound like something psychedelic out of the Sixties, but they only have one album, the self-titled album I am reviewing.  My wife Martha heard them, and she thinks they sound like REM.  I disagree.  But then again, REM took a page from the Sixties as well.  They kind of remind me of their Scottish compatriots, Sons & Daughters (who broke up recently), but Sons & Daughters also are influenced by music from the Sixties.

The album starts out with a catchy intro called "Hail Bopp".  This band has two amazing things going for them - great guitar jangle and layered harmonies.  The voices may remind me a bit of the Beach Boys, but more like Meat Puppets (who also were stuck in the Sixties).  This is evident on such rocking songs as "Default", "Firewater", "WOR", and my favorite, "Life's a Beach.".  There are also a couple of nice, mellow tunes - "Hand of Man" and "Love's Dart".

In addition to guitar, this band also has a penchant for electronica.  These songs I don't like so much.  From the dubstep "Waveforms" to the pseudo Middle Eastern "Skies Over Cairo".  My least favorite song is "Zumm Zumm".  I didn't like the Casio keyboard sound in the '80s.  Why would I like it now?  It sounds like a bad rendition of Mario Bros.

Other than that, this album rocks.  It will definitely being seeing some heavy rotation on my phone.  So if you want some new music that sounds like old music, this album is for you.

Moroni's Review of Ellie Goulding's "Halcyon"

A few weeks ago, I posted a YouTube video of one of Ellie Goulding's videos, and I said something like, "How are there even Katy Perrys in the world when there are artists like Ellie Goulding?"  Or some post-modernist gibberish like that.  I got scolded by a few people on my list, and I wound up having to qualify with something like, "It is refreshing to find an artist who is more concerned about artistic integrity than marketing themselves, or producing meaningful music rather than an image."  That seemed to placate people.  Ironically, Ellie Goulding herself lists Katy Perry as one of her influences.

In the beginning of the summer of 2011, I was spinning music for the crowds on the fair circuit.  I had just discovered Skrillex, and Skrillex was the proverbial bomb.  Dubstep was relatively new to American audiences.  At a fair in Orem, Utah, a blond college girl complimented me on my music selection and jotted down on a post-it a musical suggestion.  It was the Bassnectar mix of Ellie Goulding's "Lights".  I went home and downloaded it that night.  It was amazing - a tidal wash of noise.  I added it to my repertoire the very next night.  A few days later, I downloaded the Jakwob remix of "Starry Eyed" to my mix.

Now jump to the end of 2012, and Ellie Goulding's "Lights" is BARELY breaking the waves of American radio.  I take such pleasure in saying things like this.  I was spinning that song a year and a half ago.  (I still think the Bassnectar mix is the best version of this song.)

So recently I downloaded Ellie Goulding's sophomore effort, "Halcyon".  I played it for my wife Martha, and the first thing she said, "This sounds like Tori Amos."  Maybe.  Maybe it's the soprano and the piano.  To me, it is more reminiscent of Imogen Heap, or '90s Norwegian band, Bel Canto.  (Anyone remember them?)  But mostly, she reminds me of Kate Bush.  The music is just as richly-layered and textured, just as dreamy as Kate Bush's music.

In fact, I don't see how Katy Perry could even aspire to be in the same league as Ellie Goulding, The musical arrangements are progressive and complex, all interwoven with  Goudling's breathy voice, darting in and out like a resplendent bird through the haunting chords.

The album starts out with the moving "Don't Say A Word".  It is songs like "My Blood", "Hanging On",  and "Dead In The Water" where she evokes Kate Bush.  Goulding was featured on a couple of songs on the new Skrillex album, so she is already a darling to the electronica community.  She pays homage to this on songs like "Only You", and my personal favorite, "I Need Your Love" with electro guru, Calvin Harris.

My only complaint is that the last track on the album is "Lights", even though this song was on her debut album.  For the benefit of newcomers, I suppose.

But - like Kate Bush, and unlike Katy Perry - this whole album transcends genres.  It is an album that I can listen to over and over again.  I definitely recommend this record to anyone who wants to break free from the garbage on the radio today.

Moroni's Review of Taylor Swift's "Red"

Okay, I am admittedly not a Taylor Swift fan.  The only reason I am doing this review is that my ex-wife got the album, and I figured that I would review it to be "diverse".  I put it off, and my friend Nikki asked me when I was going to do my review.  I said, "I am waiting for her to break up with her new boyfriend."

Yeah, I've made plenty of Taylor Swift jokes in the past.  For instance, my kids and I will sing loudly to the radio in the car, "WE are never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever getting back together!"  And then we throw in a few more "evers" for good measure.  I have made a few posts about her voice sounding like the bleating of sheep.

But honestly, all my sarcasm aside, she writes her own music, which is more than I can say of the Rihannas and One Directions of the world.  It may not be my kind of music, but you gotta respect art, no matter what form it comes in.  So what if every song is about a boyfriend that ditched you?  Beauty comes from pain, right?

My review process is that I will put the headphones on and listen to music while I do other writing projects.  I will listen to the album over and over while I work - sometimes just on the periphery of my consciousness, until something grabs my attention.  Then I stop writing and I listen.

Admittedly, I already had some preconceived notions about this record when I started listening to it.  I was plotting the bad review, and, after the first listen, I was patting myself on the back for being right. The record was boring.  It didn't grab me.

Second listen, what the crap!  This is actually kind of catchy.  By the third listen, I had to admit to my ex-wife that I kind of like this album.  I am never going to be a Taylor Swift fan.  I am not rushing out to buy her back catalog.  But I can kind of tap my finger to this album.

I did notice something odd.  All of the songs that she co-wrote with others, with a team of writers, are the songs I like.  The songs she wrote by herself don't stand out to me.  It makes me wonder if the real genius behind her music are the writers in the background.  I wonder of she "writes" her music the way Avril Lavigne "writes" her own music.  "22", "I Knew You Were Trouble", and the ubiquitous song they overplay on the radio.  My favorite song is a duet with Gordon Lightbody from Snow Patrol called "The Last Time".

But my absolute favorite song is a little bluegrass ditty called "Stay Stay Stay", which really reminds me of one of my all-time favorite bands, Nickel Creek.  And guess what - she wrote it all by herself!  It is the only song on here that sounds remotely country.  In fact, this album has a decidedly "not country" feel to it, and more like a pop album.

Believe it or not, I do like country music, and I have disliked how country music sounds less and less like country music anymore.  I have made an observation - rock ballads, country songs, and R&B hits - all of them today sound like they were written without any genre in mind, a blank slate, so to speak.  The song is written first, and then a genre is slapped on once it is sold to the highest bidder.  That is how music sounds anymore nowadays - as processed and "natural" as a Twinkie (R.I.P.)

My oldest daughter has said that she is "obsessed" with this album.  It will never be that way for me.  But I admit.  It is catchy.  It tastes pretty good.  Like a McRib sandwich.  It fills you up, but ultimately there is no nutritional value there.

So I might be tapping my finger today.  But tomorrow, I will have forgotten this album and be back to jamming to the Pixies.

Moroni's Review of A Fine Frenzy's "Pine"

This album was also one that was referred to me by my dear friend Nikki.  (She is going to start her own music blog.  Once she does, I will post a link.)  She emailed me YouTube link after link of A Fine Frenzy's music.  Pretty much right away, I was hooked.

A Fine Frenzy is the project of the young (and beautiful) Alison Sudol.  This is actually her third album - entitled "Pine", but it is the first (and only) one that I have experienced.

Since I am writing this as I have insomnia, I have an overwhelming desire to write a two word review. Spinal Tap once got a two word review.  ("Shit sandwich")  My two word review is as follows:  "Hippie Music".

But that really is a good thing.  For some reason, this music reminds me of some of the great music to come out of the early '70s.  This is music that - like the album title suggests - makes me thing of pines trees, of golden afternoon sunlight on a grassy meadow.  This album truly caters to all of the senses, if that is possible.

She relies on very few instruments - the piano flows like a rivulet through the whole album, a cello hear and there.  "Dream in the Dark" relies on what sounds like only a mandolin to me.  "Riversong" and "Dance of the Gray Whales" rely only on piano.  There are a couple of pop gems in "Sailingsong", "Now Is the Start", and "It's Alive".

But the thing that I love about the album is that - even though she uses very few instruments - she layers them very magically.  The sound is very textured.  This is evident on songs like "Pinesong", "Winds of Wander", "Avalanches (Culla's Song)", and "Sadseasong".  My absolute favorite song is "They Can't If You Don't Let Them".  It is worth getting the album for that song alone.

Even though this is a very soft, languid album, it is anything but boring.  It is one of those albums that I can listen to over and over.  It is great mood music.

Of course, there are the inevitable comparisons to Bon Iver or Iron & Wine.  Even to Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, or Fiona Apple (see my previous post.)  But her voice - her tremulous, breathy voice - reminds me of Heather Nova, along with her frequent use of the cello.  And Heather Nova is one of my favorite artists.  But I also wish to draw a comparison also to This Mortal Coil, one of my favorite bands from the '80s.  And this because of the way the texture of the music evokes images and a dreamlike feel.

So in other words, A Fine Frenzy is everything the name suggests.

Moroni's Review of Of Monsters And Men's "My Head Is An Animal"

I actually meant to write this review some time ago.  But I actually forgot that I had downloaded it!  I never even got a chance to listen to it.  Early in the summer, my ex-wife had downloaded the single "Little Talks" by the band Of Monsters And Men, and I really liked it.  So I decided to get the entire album, and my computer filed it in a way that I forgot that I downloaded their debut album, "My Head Is An Animal"...  Until just a few days ago...

When I researched a bit about this band, I discovered that they are from Iceland!  I was surprised.  My previous experience with music from Iceland has been limited to the Sugarcubes, Bjork, and Sigur Ros.  I have to say that each of these bands has impressed me, especially with the way they developed without much regard to the mainstream.  I can say the same thing about Of Monsters And Men.  They are unique.

They are more than just unique.  This band radiates an innocence in their music.  They have been untainted by fame and success.  It shows in their music.  It is unpretentious and honest.  It reminds me of the innocence once possessed by 10,000 Maniacs - particularly on their first album "The Wishing Chair", and even more evident on "The Hope Chest".  They have a glow unlike bands like Innocence Mission.  These bands were making music that they wanted to make, not based on trends or based on what the record companies wanted them  produce.

I mean, this band features an accordion and a trumpet.  What more could you ask for?

This type of innocence doesn't last in the music industry.  I hope it endures with Of Monsters and Men.

I listened to this album with my wife Martha, and the first thing she remarked on was the unusual voice and singing style of... how do I spell this?...  Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir.  She often sings in duet with the guitarist Raggi Porhallsson.  Their voices compliment each other very well, especially because their Icelandic accents shine through their English lyrics.  This is true on several pretty, little ballads on the album - "Slow and Steady", "Your Bones", and "Sloom".  "Six Weeks" is an anthem that sounds as grandiose as anything Arcade Fire has done.  The album starts out great with a haunting melody - "Dirty Paws".  My personal favorites are "King and Lionheart" and "Mountain Sound".

This is a very enjoyable album, and I definitely recommend it, especially if you are sick of the electronic glitz that abounds on the radio these days.  Enjoy some innocence.

Moroni's Review of Fiona Apple's "The Idler Wheel ..."

The name of this album is "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do."

Whew!!  What a title!  I am not sure Twitter would let me post the link with all of those characters!  Still, it is not as long as the title of Fiona Apple's other album, "When the Pawn..." - and that is abbreviated!

That said, I am not that familiar with Fiona Apple's music.  When she broke onto the scene in 1996, I had just moved out to my ranch, living off grid.  I wasn't exposed to music much during the time period.  I did hear about her, liked her name, and even saw a video for her song, "Criminal".  I really wasn't that into it.  It was too jazzy.  But that's really about it.  I have a close friend who is a huge fan and has been bugging me since June to do a review of this album.  So here it is, Nikki!

This month, I downloaded Fiona Apple's fourth album, which I will not type again, but henceforth call "The Idler Wheel.."  What is it like to listen to an entire album of an artist who already has an established career, and you have not listened to a single album?  Do you really have to listen to the whole catalog in order to get a good sense of who the artist is?  I think not.  I am able to get a refreshing look without being hampered by hype and previously preconceived notions about the artist.

My first impression of Fiona Apple...  Like her album title, she is wordy!  Whereas I am sure that this is one of the reasons her fans love her, it doesn't do much for me.  In music, I like lyrics that convey an image rather than a message.  (However, I noticed that her song "Hot Knife" has some nice imagery to it.)  If I listen to lyrics, I listen to them in context of the music rather than trying to decipher a meaning.  I sing along with songs all the time without even being aware of what they are trying to convey.  My favorite band is Cocteau Twins, for heaven's sake.  They never use real words, and, if they do, they don't mean anything.  I know people that are driven nuts by this.  They have to know what is being said in order to appreciate the music.  Such people usually don't like music in other languages, either.

That said, I am feeling like the genius of Fiona's music is passing over my head like a Boeing 787, because the music in many places is minimalist and loaded with words from start to finish.

This album is like a fine wine.  At first, it tastes as bitter and overwhelms your olfactory senses, but the more you sip on it, the better it tastes.  At first listen, it annoyed me.  Ask my wife Martha, I kept saying it over and over.  But the more I listened, the more I started to like it.  Now, I think the album is genius.  I think that Fiona Apple is the female equivalent of Tom Waits.  And that is the best possible review I can give this album.  She is a female Tom Waits.  That's a pretty, damn glowing review, Nikki.  LOL

I think that the reason it takes so long to get adjusted to this album is because - undoubtedly - it is so eccentric.  She is so eccentric.  In a crazy cat lady kind of way.  Like Tori Amos.  Like Regina Spektor.  From afar you recognize the genius of the artist.  If you engaged them in conversation at a cocktail party, you approach them, because they are easy on the eyes.  But soon you would be itching to escape.  Because the conversation would be so random, so nonlinear, so incoherent that you could not make the proverbial heads or tails of it.  I mean, this is a woman who just cancelled her world tour to spend time with her dog.  (Go on tour, buy twenty dogs when you get home.)

The first song off of "The Idler Wheel" is "Every Single Night" which starts out like a music box, and then soon is dominated with Fiona's definitive contralto voice.  The next rest of the album is fairly minimalist.  What I mean by this - the music is mainly percussion and piano with very little interposition of many other instruments.  What becomes obvious is that Fiona's secret weapon is her voice.  She is very dramatic with it.  She expresses great emotion with it.  Sometimes her voice seems a hoarse whisper, and the next she is raging about something.  My personal favorite songs are "Valentine", "Left Alone" (love her voice is this one), and "Periphery".  The album ends up nicely with many voices layered on "Hot Knife".

This album is very jazzy, kind of cabaret,  As a whole, it kind of has a feverish feel to it, like a fitful dream that one can't wake up from.  I can't compare it to any other artist, because, really, there is no other female artist around like her.  It does make me think of one song - "This Devil's Workday" by Modest Mouse.  This album evokes a similar feel to me.

This is a very excellent album.  But it is an acquired taste.  Like smoked salmon.  Or sea cucumber.  Both of which I love.  But you might not.

Moroni's Review of Muse's "The 2nd Law"

I have been waiting to do this review for a while.  It should be known that Muse is one of my absolute favorite bands.

In 2001, I bought the soundtrack to the film "Swordfish", because I love electronica.  My favorite song was "Newborn" by a band called Muse.  Of course, it was a Paul Oakenfold remix.  But the voice - the singer had the voice of an angel.  I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but it was positively divine.

I researched the band and found a review for their 2nd album, "Origin of Symmetry".  I still remember clearly what the reviewer said.  He said that the introduction of this album - which was the song "Newborn" - was the best intro to an album since Pixies' "Doolittle".  And "Doolittle" is my favorite rock album of all time.  I was hooked.  I had to find this album.  Since I live in rural Arizona - in the days before I was downloading music - I had to wait until my next trip to Phoenix.  I found a copy of "Origin of Symmetry" in a CD shop.  But it was only available in import, which means it was ridiculously overpriced.  So I passed  (I shouldn't have.)

That was the last I heard of Muse for several years, although "Newborn" made it onto virtually every mix CD I would make.

In 2005, I was doing a job in Connecticut.  I was hanging out in my apartment, getting ready for work while watching MTV.  I caught the tail end of a video.  It was a hard rocking song, and the guy had pipes like Freddie Mercury.  "Who the hell is it?" I wondered.  "This has to be Muse."

Sure enough.  It was Muse.  It was their song "Time is Running Out".  And they freaking rocked!

A few weeks later, I was doing a job in San Diego, and I was making a trip home with Martha.  I stopped by a Best Buy to get music for the drive home.  They had the new album "Absolution" in stock, and I bought a copy.  I listened to it the whole album the whole way home.  I listened to it the whole drive back to San Diego.  It never left the car the whole time I was in San Diego.  I kept listening to it over and over.  And then on another trip home, I stopped by the outlet mall in Barstow and bought "Origin of Symmetry".

Muse quickly became a favorite band of - not just mine - but of the whole family.  It was hard to describe them to people.  Yes, they were definitely prog rock.  One moment it could be pianos and violins, and the next moment it was electronica, and after that it would be rocking hard.  The thing that I liked about Muse was the technical precision with which they played.  Even though it was hard rock, it was like classical music in its complexity.  And his voice - yes, it was a man.  Matthew Bellamy with his voice of an angel reminded me of either Jeff Buckley or Freddie Mercury.  And Muse definitely took a page from Queen or Led Zepplin.  Plus they had a quirky side.  Their music was spacey and science fiction-y.  There is a definite affinity to conspiracy theories, which gives the music a distinctive flavor.

Then came Twilight...

My teenage daughter was into the Twilight books, and Stephenie Meyer had posted a list of music that influenced her writing.  My daughter was suddenly raiding my music to listen to this music - which included Muse.  When the movie came out, a couple of Muse songs were on the soundtrack.  Suddenly, every tween girl and her werewolf were into Muse.  I was happy for their success, but they were no longer this hidden gem that existed only for the private listening pleasure of me and my family.

Earlier this year, when I started hearing previews of the new album by Muse - "The 2nd Law", I started getting very worried.  It was all dubstep-y.  Anyone knows me knows that I am not averse to dubstep.  I was deejaying dubstep before it became all the rave.  I am huge into Skrillex and Bassnectar.  But if I want dubstep, I do not want to go to Muse for it.  When I think of Muse, I think of grandiose, operatic vocals over hard rocking guitars.  And I read an article where many fans abandoned Muse because of the dubstep.

However, I downloaded the whole album on the day it was released.  Within the first thirty seconds, I knew that I had nothing to worry about.  The first track is "Supremacy" starts out softly with violins, and suddenly Matthew Bellamy lets out a piercing caterwaul.  I played this song for my ex-wife, who is also a huge Muse (thanks to me), and she let out a resounding, "Yes!"

It is still Muse!

"Supremacy" sounds like the intro to a James Bond movie.  I later heard that it was written with that in mind, but that the title song for "Skyfall" went to that fat British singer, what's her name again?

The next track is the main single called "Madness".  I heard this song before the album came out, and I really didn't like it.  It had the aforementioned dubstep influence.  But the more I listened to it, the more I liked it.  It has a mellow, soulful vibe.  Subsequently, this song is my ex-wife's favorite song on the album.

The next song, "Panic Station" is the only song on the album that I don't like at all.  Muse, please never experiment with funk again.

"Survival" was the official theme of the Summer 2012 Olympics.  It is a random Queen-inspired anthem.  I didn't watch the Olympics at all this year, but I can't imagine this song heralding in the Olympics.  It's too eccentric.

"Follow Me", "Animals", and "Explorers" are straight-up Muse songs.  They could have been on any of the albums.  "Big Freeze" sounds like it could be U2, and "Save Me" sounds like it could be Tears For Fears.  One of my favorite tracks is "Liquid State" which is pretty much the only heavy metal on this whole album, a track written by bassist Chris Wolstenholme.  Then the album finishes out with two concept songs - "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" and "The 2nd Law: Isolated System".  One is dubstep, and the other sounds like the score of a movie.

All in all, this is a great album.  I would recommend it to anyone.

Shortly after I downloaded this album, I put it onto my ex-wife's Zune.  (Yes, she has a Zune.)  Several days later, I asked her what she thought.

"I love it," she said.  "It is by far THEE best Muse album!"

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

It is not as good as "Absolution", "Origin of Symmetry", or "Black Holes & Revelations".  However, it is better than "The Resistance" - and that is still a pretty good album.

"Yeah, I like how they blend the dubstep in there," she said.

"That's what I don't like about it," I said.

She pretended to slap me.  "Oh, just give it a year.  You'll like it."

And that is a woman who knows me too well.  That post-modernist trait that is common in my generation - don't trust anything that is too mainstream.  But once the mainstream relinquishes it, it will be all yours again.  The last Twilight movie comes out this month, and soon the craze will be all over...

Moroni's Review of Metric's "Synthetica"

Right off the bat, I have to say that I am totally obsessed with this album.  This one of those albums that I am lucky to come across that I am able to listen to over and over again.  But that is not the first time that Metric has done this to me.

After I downloaded this album, my wife Martha came into the bedroom while I was listening to this.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"Metric," I answered.

"Are they very big?" she asked.

I shrugged.  "Yes.  I guess they are now.  One of their songs was the main song in one of the Twilight movies.  That kind of put them in the spotlight.  But they have been around a long time, and I was into them way before Twilight."

"I've noticed that you and the lady who wrote the Twilight novels are into the same type of music," Martha observed.

That annoyed me.  But it is true.  My Chemical Romance, Muse, Metric, Blue October.  These are bands that Stepenie Meyer and I both share in common.  And although I really HATE the Twilight series, I am forced to admit that they have pretty good soundtracks.  Muse (whose new album I will be reviewing soon) was a special jewel of mine that very few had ever heard of until Twilight came along.  I remember my teen daughter raiding my music library, picking out music suggestions that Stephenie Meyer had made on her website.  Suddenly, every teen girl knew who Muse was.  I don't know why that annoyed me so much.

So it was with Metric.

I was browsing new music and stumbled across Metric's third album "Fantasies".  I bought it without ever having heard it.  Throughout the summers of 2009 and 2010, while I was working the fair circuit, this album played constantly - over and over.  I did not get sick of it.  I am still not sick of it.

When Metric released their fourth album, "Synthetica", I was worried that they might not be able to do it again.  But I was wrong.  This album is very good.

From the first sad tones of the first track "Artificial Nocturne", I was hooked.  "Youth Without Youth" is the first single off of the album, and it is not even one of my favorite songs.  In truth, there is not a bad song on this album.  Once again, Emily Haines breathy vocals blend perfectly with the effervescent, dreamy quality of sound that pervades this whole album.  It is a great concept album.  They take "New Wave" to a level it never quite reached in the '80s.

My favorite tracks are "Speed the Collapse", "Dreams So Real", "Lost Kitten", and "Synthetica".  But really, the whole album is very good.  I would suggest this album to anyone.  And just ignore that whole Twilight thing...

Moroni's Review of Imagine Dragons' "Night Visions"

One of the great things about my relationship with my oldest daughter Sophie and me is music.

I never really had music in common with my dad.  He couldn't really understand the '80s alternative music that I listened to as a kid.  He was into old time country, Mexican rancheras, and '50s rock and roll.  It wasn't until I was an adult that we shared some musical tastes.  For instance, I was into bluegrass, and we both enjoyed the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou".

I don't know what I am.  I guess I am one of those "cool dads" who likes new music.  Maybe?  But Sophie and I are always introducing music to each other.  She is now in college and recently posted a link to Imagine Dragons to me.  So I downloaded the first album from this Las Vegas quartet - "Night Visions".

I'm going to be honest.  After my first listen, I really didn't like it that much.  Even after several listens, I have to admit that it is not too terribly original.  This is the kind of generic music that record studios pump out that is "marketable" and designed to get radio airplay.

But after listening to it, it is kind of starting to grow on me.  There are still some songs that annoy me.  But the album is kind of catchy.  This album is not going to win any Grammy's. but it is good  music to tap your finger to for a while.

The album starts out with "Radioactive", which is a haunting melody.  But then they have to throw that wobble bass in there.  I understand that the masses still like dubstep.  But this is a rock band.  I am wondering which engineer or radio executive decided to make this a dubstep song instead of a straight up rock song.

The next song - "Tiptoe" - is equally catchy.  But I disliked the Casio keyboard sound in the '80s, and I dislike it equally in 2012.  "It's Time" and "Every Night" are ballads, and they don't do much for me.  "On Top of the World" and "Underdog" are so annoying that I almost never want to listen to this album ever again - just because of these songs.  However, the album is redeemed by my favorite songs - "Amsterdam", "Hear Me", "Bleeding Out", and "Nothing Left to Say".

It is hard to listen to this album without hearing its obvious influences - the Killers, Neon Trees, Vertical Horizon, Coldplay - and I even heard a little Gene Loves Jezebel in there.

All in all, a decent album.  But I don't think I will be holding my breath for their sophomore effort.

Moroni's Review of Ingrid Michaelson's "Human Again"

For our thirteenth (and final) anniversary, Temple and I got each other simple gifts.  After all, we were going to New York City.  Temple bought me books - a thick copy of the third "Game of Thrones" novel and two Conan graphic novels.  (I was pleased.)  I ordered her the new Ingrid Michaelson album from Amazon.

The album had been out since January, and, every chance we got, we would scour any store that carried CDs for it.  We never found it.  I offered to download a digital copy, but Temple refused.  When she got this album, she wanted a physical CD that she could hold in her hands.  So, for our anniversary, I ordered a copy - a $13 parting gift.

It arrived on our anniversary, and I dropped it off at her house, complete in the bubble wrap.  A week, or so, later, we took our trip to New York.  The entire drive to the airport in Phoenix, we listened to the album.  I asked Temple if she liked it.  She said that, right now, it is her favorite album.  She listened to it constantly.  She said that it was Ingrid Michaelson's best album.

And Temple has all of Ingrid Michaelson's albums.  Temple loves Ingrid Michaelson, has for years.  And - as with most of the music Temple listens to - I got her into Ingrid Michaelson.

In 2007, I was remodeling a hotel in Pittsburgh.  One morning, while I was getting ready for work, I was watching Good Morning, America.  The night before was the season finale of Grey's Anatomy - a show that I have never watched to this day.  There was a poignant scene, and they chose the music of an unknown musician named Ingrid Michaelson.  She had not released an album yet, and the producers had discovered her music on MySpace.

They interviewed Ingrid.  She was a brainy beauty with tortoise shell glasses who still lived at home with her parents.  There was an innocence and honesty about her, and her music was great.  She made me wish that she wanted to become a sisterwife.  That day, I became one of her MySpace friends.  

A year later, her single "The Way I Am" became a hit on the radio, and I would say with pride that I was a "friend" on her MySpace page before anyone had really heard of her.  I introduced the music to Temple, and she loved it.  She bought every album afterwards.  For a long time, her ringback tone was  "Everybody".

As I listened to the album on the way to the airport, I had to concur with Temple.  The album is the best album by Ingrid Michaelson to date.  The sound is clear.  The music is well written.  And Michaelson is a superb lyricist.  ("We hate the rain when it fills up our shoes/ But we love it when it washes our cars.")

The album starts our great with "Fire", which is a typical song for Ingrid Michaelson.  "I'm Through" is a very touching song about dealing with life after a breakup.  "Blood Brothers", "Ghost", and "Palm of Your Hand" are very catchy.  "In the Sea" is my personal favorite.  "End of the World" is a love song about the zombie apocalypse.  In truth, there is not a bad song on the album.

On our trip home from New York, we listened to the album for the four hour drive home, and I am still not sick of it.  I would recommend this album  to anyone.

Announcement

Breaking News: After 13 years, Temple and I are ending our marriage. It may seem cliche, but we really love each other and are still the best of friends. We will continue raising our children together, just no longer as husband and

 wife. It is a very sad time for us, and yet I wish her the best. There are reasons for it, but I won't discuss it on a public forum. I won't tolerate people badmouthing Temple or dragging her name through the mud. There are reasons for the split, but honestly I have to take responsibility for this. If it is anyone's fault, it is mine. I will likely blog about this in coming days, but without embarrassing her. My thirteen years as a polygamist are over, and I will still defend this Principle until my dying day, as I will defend Temple. This photo was taken the evening it became final. I LOVE YOU FOREVER, TEMPLE!! ♥

Moroni's Review of Dead Can Dance's "Anastasis"

I have to admit.  I have been waiting to do this review for a long time.  I never thought this day would come.  It has been sixteen years since Dead Can Dance came out with a new album.

There are times in my life when - the first time I heard certain music - it changed me forever.  A sort of "WTF" moment.  The first time I heard AC/DC.  Rick James.  Korn.  And one of those moments was the first time I heard Dead Can Dance.

It was 1986.  Sixteen years-old.  Their album "Spleen and Ideal."  When I first heard the name "Dead Can Dance", I assumed that it was gothic music.  And it was, kind of.  But it transcended that label.  World music.  New Age.  It went kind of beyond all of them.

The majestic sweep of "De Profundis" with the crashing voice of Lisa Gerrard.  She wasn't singing words.  It sometimes sounded Latin.  Sometimes it sounded Arabic.  In truth, there weren't any words to it at all.  Like the speech of an infant, it was the pure expression of emotion.  The next song was "Ascension" - a duet of trombones that literally made me imagine climbing the face of a snow-capped mountain peak.  To this day, I can think of no better song than "Avatar".  It is so stripped down - a drum, a bass guitar, and a scintillating hammered dulcimer with Lisa Gerrard's wavering, Stevie Nicks-ish voice building to such an emotional crescendo that it still brings tears to my eyes.

Of course, Lisa Gerrard is only one half of Dead Can Dance.  The other half is Brendan Perry.  His smooth, collected baritone was the antithesis of Gerrard's voice on songs like "The Cardinal Sin".  Truthfully, I much preferred Lisa Gerrard's songs and would find myself fast-forwarding past HIS songs.  As I have grown older, I appreciate Brendan Perry's songs much more.

This album changed my life.  It changed the way I looked at art.  It influenced my poetry.  I got more into classical music.  I even started reading French poet, Charles Baudelaire.  (The name "Spleen and Ideal" is taken from his poetry.)

I also got into Dead Can Dance's back catalog - one EP and one self-titled album.  Dead Can Dance came out of the punk movement in Melbourne, Australia in the late 1970s.  They lived in a communal house and made music with whatever they could find in their house.  In fact, "Frontier" - from their first album - was recorded by banging on oil drums filled with water frosted with Lisa Garrard's spooky voice.  They were  not musicians and taught themselves to make music on whatever they could find.

Soon, they relocated to England and signed to the prestigious 4AD label.

When I was seventeen, they followed up with "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun", which was all orchestral, all recorded inside of a cathedral.  I bought this on vinyl - except that I only had a record player that didn't work.  On my first listen, I spun the record my hand, listening to the faint sounds coming out of the needle and grooves, with no aid of speakers, or even electricity.

My senior year of high school, I had my parents drive me to the nearest record store 40 miles away to buy "The Serpent's Egg".  By now, Dead Can Dance was steering towards a more tribal sound, with lots of percussion.  My sophmore year of college was dominated by "Aion", which sounded like a pagan Renaissance Fair.

When Dead Can Dance broke up around 1997, I was devastated.  Apparently, the marriage of the creative geniuses of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry was more than just musical.  They were a couple, and when the relationship ended, so did the band.  This band had been an important part of my life for more than a decade.

For the next ten years, I followed both of their solo careers.  One of the strangest moments for me was listening to the end credits of the movie "Gladiator" and hearing Lisa Gerrard's voice.  In the glorious days of the '80s, in the age of Michael Jackson, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, I was listening to stuff like Dead Can Dance.  No one had even heard of it, thought it was weird.  I played "Song of Sophia" in my college Music Appreciation class as my selection to share with other students.  And now, as people filed out of a movie theater, I was listening to Lisa Gerrard sing for a Holywood Blockbuster.  It was ironic.  She has since gone on to do several movies, including "The Whale Rider".

In 2005, the band reunited for touring purposes, and earlier this year, when they announced a new album called "Anastasis", I was ecstatic.

What can I say?  The album is excellent.  None of them have ever been as magical and as entrancing as  "Spleen and Ideal".  But it is still good.

As usual, the songs are split up into "His & Hers".  The album opens up with "Children of the Sun".  From its first strains, I gave a sigh of relief - it was good to hear them again.  It sounds just like Dead Can Dance - except with better engineering.  Lisa Gerrard's songs "Anabasis", "Agape", and "Kiko" sound very much like her solo efforts.  When I listen to them, I picture myself in a caravan with Marco Polo, traveling across the Gobi Desert..

Brendan Perry's songs are very good as well.  "Amnesia" - which is the first single off of the album - and "Opium" are very moving to me.  "Return of the She-King" is a collaborative effort between the two of them.  It is a nice Celtic tune that makes me think of Queen Boudica.

It is nice to see Dead Can Dance back and in good form.  It is good to see that age has only improved their talent and not diminished it.  I would recommend this album to anyone.

Without Purse or Scrip

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Moroni's Review of "Rock of Ages"

It was Father's Day, and, after a kind of hard week, I was ready for some lighter fare.  So when the girls told me that they would take me to a movie, I picked "Rock of Ages".

I didn't regret it.

The movie is cheesy.  But it is funny - sometimes unintentionally so.  All in all, it is great fun.

It seems that "Glee" has changed the landscape of our entertainment culture, making a musical like "Rock of Ages" possible.  All of the songs are big-hair anthems that I grew up with in the 1980s, and I couldn't help but finding myself singing along.

Who cares about the story when you have got great music like this?  Based on a Broadway play, the story tells the story of two young aspiring musicians - Drew Boley (played by Diego Boneta) and Sherrie Christian (played by the annoying Julianne Hough) - who move to Los Angeles in a 1980s that barely resembles the '80s I knew and grew up in.  They both meet at a rock club on the Sunset Strip called the Bourbon Club, owned by two rockers played by Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin (both of whom stole the show).

The story is centered around the final show of Arsenal, an imaginary rock band headed by Tom Cruise as the Axl Rose-esque Stacee Jaxx.  Cruise's performance is beautifully incoherent.  (All my wife Temple could notice was Jaxx's abs.  LOL)  There is a fiendish plot by Jaxx's sleazy manager (in a brilliant performance by Paul Giamatti) to take all of the proceeds for himself, and the mayor's wife (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones) who believes that rock and roll is Satan's music and is bound and determined to clean up the Strip and close down the club.

Every other tune is a rock classic from the '80s, and the characters break into song every couple of minutes. However, to me, having grown up in the '80s, it seemed a bit incongruous.  When did headbangers ever belt out "We Built This City" with passion?  The rockers I knew would have puked at the thought.  And the story takes place in 1987.  Which rocker was into Foreigner by then?

There were a couple of cool things.  I fought back waves of nostalgia when one of the scenes took place in Tower Records, one of my inner sanctums as a youth.  Rather than paying attention to the movie, I looked at the vinyl collection in the background.  Some set designer placed such gems as Christian Death and Killing Joke in the background.

The other fun part of the movie were the mash-ups.  Rarely was an '80s anthem sung by itself.  It was brilliantly combined with another classic.  "Juke Box Hero" with "I Love Rock 'N' Roll".  "We Built This City" with "We're Not Gonna Take It".

And the best part of the whole movie - a duet between Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin singing "Can't Fight This Feeling".

This is a movie that laughs at itself.  Hence, it is fun.  My wives and I loved it.  A few days later, my wife Temple bought the soundtrack.

Moroni's Review of Silversun Pickup's "Neck of the Woods"

I am always on  the quest for the album that grabs me.  Yes, most of the time I buy an album, I will really like three songs off of it, but not the rest.  If the it is really good, I might like five songs off of an album. But the experience of liking every single song off of an album is a rare thing for me.  So rare, that it is like a religious experience for me.  What I do is listen to such an album over and over again, until it finally starts to wear off of me.  But while it is in my mind - and on my phone - it is a faithful relationship from which I do not stray.

Every time I buy an album, I am hoping for this experience.  But it rarely occurs.  The albums that are like this are precious jewels that come along every so often.  Pixies' "Doolittle", Heather Nova's "Oyster", Coldplay's "X&Y", Muse's "Absolution", Modest Mouse's "Good News For People Who Love Bad News", Blue October's "Foiled", My Chemical Romance's "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge", and Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album.  These are a few of those special albums for me.  Every now and then, a band will do it a second time for me - like Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" and Avenged Sevenfold's "Nightmare".  But that doesn't happen so often.  I always hope a band will capture the muse again for their next attempt, but they seldom do.

At the end of 2009, I was remodeling a hotel in Columbia, South Carolina.  I woke up at 3AM with insomnia and turned on the TV.  At this ungodly hour, MTV will actually play musical videos.  There was a band from L.A. that I had never heard of - Silversun Pickups.  The video was for their song "Lazy Eye".  It was noisy like a Sonic Youth song, but it was catchy like the Pixies.  I liked it instantly and downloaded the one song the next morning.

A couple of months later, I heard that they were up for Best New Artist at the Grammy's (which they didn't get).  I decided to do some further investigating.  I downloaded their album "Swoon".  The first song was a catchy rock jangle, and it was okay.  But then the song fades out into a swirling texture of sound as the "The Royal We" started.  "What's this?" I thought with alarm.  By the time the song ended, I was hooked.  The song moved me.  Every single song was like that.  And the whole album rotated for months in my car's CD player.

Instantly, Silversun Pickups was inducted to the handful of bands that I call my favorite.

Last year, I heard that they were working on their third album.  "Can they do it again?" I wondered.  I was doubtful, because that kind of creativity rarely stays with artists.  At the end of 2011, they released a three-song EP called "Seasick".  It was a hint of the album - very good.  I listened to those three songs over and over (until the wives got sick of hearing them.)

A couple of days ago, I was speaking to a friend and told her that I had to wait until my next payday to download Silversun Pickup's new album "Neck of the Woods".  She surprised me by buying me a download.  (Thanks, Becca!!)  So this morning, I downloaded it.  I struggled with it for a while, because I needed a program that could unzip it.  I finally found one, and I got my first listen.

So how is it?  Let me put it this way - the day is not even over, and I have listened to this album four times already.  This album is one of those rarities that I spoke of.  There is not a single bad song on it.  From the opening shimmer of sound on "Skin Graph" to flowery "Bloody Mary" to the electronic pulse of "The Pit", there is not a boring moment on this album.  My personal favorites are "Make Believe" and "Gun-Shy Sunshine".

This album is swirly and hard and haunting all at once.  There is a gritty, somber mood that permeates this whole album, and it definitely smells of teen angst.  Brian Aubert's singing style is an acquired taste.  At first, I didn't like it.  But it grew on me.  And all  the music is in good form - driving basslines and percussion, and the keyboards add great texture to the music.  Yes, they take their cue cards from My Bloody Valentine and Elliott Smith.  But this album assures them a place in the hall of "my favorite bands".  I would recognize this album to everyone.  Well, not everyone.  Not my mother.  Not my father-in-law.  But anyone who likes original rock and roll.

Moroni's Review of Neon Trees' "Picture Show"

What do you say about a band from the town where I was born - Provo, Utah?  And what do you say about a band that is all Mormon, like me?

Well, first of all, Utah has always had an unhealthy obsession with the '80s.  At first, it was because lack of things like internet as well as the isolation of its majestic mountains keeping the latest trends and fashions from entering Utah's fat valleys.  It always seemed to me that Utah was always behind the times by about three years.  Even though I was born in Utah, I was mostly raised in Arizona - which, someone pointed out to me, is not exactly a cultural mecca.  But we do somewhat bask in the distant lights of L.A.

In 1990, when I moved back to Salt Lake City to go to college, '80s fixtures like Depeche Mode and the Cure were all the rage, even though I had already outgrown that years ago.  In a way, the '80s never went out of style in Utah.

Of course, Utah is not so provincial anymore.  Not only has it enjoyed one of the largest economic booms in the last ten years, along with a growing computer industry, but it has produced some pretty cool bands - like the Used and Neon Trees.

Yes, Neon Trees is a very cool band.  They were discovered in 2008 by the Killers (and Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers is also a Mormon).  That said, this is a band that I have wanted to get into  - but just can't.  I have to admit - in 2010, when I started hearing the hype about this band, I downloaded their first album "Habits" (along with its overplayed hit "Animal") as soon as it came out, but it was an entire year before I listened to the whole album.  I just could not get into it.  It wasn't bad.  It just didn't grab me.

And I feel the same way about their sophmore effort, "Picture Show".  (I just love saying the word "sophmore".)  It is catchy.  It is all glittery.  But it lacks substance.

My whole '80's diatribe is about this - just about every song by Neon Trees has an undeniable '80s vibe.  Neon Trees does not only have an influence, sometimes it is just a plain rip-off.  "Moving in the Dark" could be Tears For Fears.  (And is it me, or does the opening verse sound just like Gaga's "Born This Way"?)  "Mad Love" is a really, really, really, really (to quote the song) great song, but it sounds JUST LIKE older New Order.  And "Trust" sounds frighteningly similar to "Everything Counts" by Depeche Mode.

There are some excellent gems on this album - "Teenage Sounds" rocks with a new wave splendor.  "Lessons In Love" and "Close to You" have hooks galore.  My favorite songs are "Hooray For Hollywood" and "I Am the D.J."

The main single is "Everbody Talks", which - not only sounds exactly like "Animal" - but it is so overplayed that I can't stand hearing it anymore.  One funny thing about this song - my three year-old Avery laughs really hard every time he hears the guy clear his throat at the beginning of the song.  It doesn't matter how many time he hears it, he laughs.

So this is an okay album.  It is catchy - even though Neon Trees sounds just like Anberlin, a band I really respect.  But it is unlikely this album will undergo heavy rotation in my car, on my phone - anywhere.

STAND BY TOMORROW FOR MY REVIEW OF THE NEW ALBUM BY SILVERSUN PICKUPS, WHICH I AM DOWNLOADING AT 12:01AM TOMORROW - SOOOO EXCITED!!!

Dubstep Summer

For the past four years, I have worked every summer with my brother-in-law, who is an airbrush artist.  He airbrushes t-shirts and is an amazing artist.  We travel all over the western states from fair to fair, camp in tents and live this wonderful bohemian life all summer.  His art usually appeals to the urban, hip hop crowd, and so most of our business takes place at night, the same crowd that comes for the carnival.

We learned early on that music was an essential part of our booth.  When we played music, we noticed that we attracted more people to the booth.  We bought a cheap little boom box, and since I am the music lover, I provided the tunes.  But I played music according to my tastes.  I learned really quick that this wasn't going to work.  One day, my selection of Serge Gainsbourg was snickered at by a teen girl.  I was going to have to cater to the masses.

The second year out, we started experimenting.  We discovered that some types of music attracted people, and some types of music drove people away.  Heavy metal, punk and alternative music repelled people.  Country music was neutral.  It didn't repel, but it really didn't draw people either.  Hip hop attracted people.  Techno attracted people.  And oddly enough, the Ramones drew people.

One of the problems is that - if your music is limited - you get sick of your music really fast.  You  have to listen to it all day, every day for weeks.  So I am always trying to improve my playlist.

Last spring (April, 2011), I was downloading music to prepare for the upcoming fair circuit.  Most of it was hip hop.  I use whatever means available to scour for music.  Browsing, but mostly taking suggestions from Facebook friends.

One of my friends (Martha from Chicago) posted a link.  It was to an artist called Skrillex, and her commentary was "Dubstep f****d my mind."  The track was named "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites".  I had never heard of dubstep, but I listened to the song.  My mind was totally blown.  This was electronic music for deejays.  It was so random, and there were so many changes in the song that one could barely keep up with it.  I was hooked.  I downloaded the song (along with a Skrillex remix of a Black Eyed Peas song) and added it to my playlist.

I am no stranger to electronic music.  While I was an exchange student in Belgium in 1988, I was introduced to the rave scene - before it was called rave.  Acid House.  New Beat.  Techno.  I brought this music back with me, and by 1989, all of the underground clubs were pumping this music.  I was totally into it.  We were clubbing four nights a week - all so that we could listen to the music.  I even wore the smiley face buttons.  I was a regular denizen at all of the raves in Phoenix.

I do believe that it was DeLaSoul that once said (rapped), "Everyone wants to be a deejay."  I was no exception.  I had no equipment, but I dubbed some very good mix tapes.  I had a huge vinyl collection.  I even deejayed a couple of parties.  My dream was to open a club.  I even had my eye on an old warehouse that would make a great club.  In 1990, I moved to Utah and auditioned as a deejay at Club DV8.  House music had not quite made it to Utah.  I didn't get the gig.

So 21 years later, I discover dubstep, and it has all of the electronic magic that acid house once had.  I found myself in a pickup truck, hauling airbrush equipment, on my way up north to start our fair circuit.  I put a CD in for my brother-in-law to show him my playlist.  He listened to Skrillex for the first time, and he - like me - was totally blown away.

Our first gig was a summer festival in Utah.  I only had two Skrillex songs in my repertoire, but I had a tremendous response from them.  Tremendous!  "Is that dubstep?!"  "Is that Skrillex?!"  The sounds drew crowds to our booth like none other.  I went home that night and downloaded the whole Skrillex catalog.  Plus, people would come up to me randomly and make suggestions of other dubstep artists - deadmau5, Nero, Bassnectar, Datsik, Mt. Eden Dubstep, Notixx, etc.  I was downloading music every night, updating my playlist.

By the end of June, we had the best booth in any show we went to - bright lights, a colorful display, my brother-in-law's mad airbrush skills, and the "sickest" music blaring out into the night.  Nobody else had a booth like ours.  We got praise every night - not just on the art, but on the music selection.  My brother-in-law was introducing me as his deejay.

What we didn't know was that we had timed this just right - the beginning of summer of 2011 was the beginning of the dubstep explosion in the United States.  And I was fulfilling my dream of being a deejay - at 41 years-old.  I was making sounds that were drawing in and amazing people.  It wasn't uncommon to have people start dancing in front of our booth.

At first, I was just using my phone connected to a speaker.  By July, in Wyoming, I was deejaying live from my laptop.

By the end of the summer, the dubstep craze was dying down.  And this is how you could tell - at the beginning of the summer, in June, the people that were coming to us and talking about our music were all college students.  By the end of the summer, by September, it was little kids who were asking, "Is this dubstep?"

But we caught it when it was just starting out, and that was exciting.  I don't think I will be going on the fair circuit this summer due to health issues.  (I wish I was.  I love the mad bohemian lifestyle.)  But I am certain that many booths will be blaring dubstep in the summer of 2012.  But we were the first.  We were innovators.  And  yes, I am saying that with a little pride.

So people asked me, "What did you do this summer?"

And I responded, "I deejayed hot music for thousands of people every day all summer.  What did you do?"

Moroni's Review of Sleigh Bell's "Reign of Terror"

I have a theory - nostalgia comes in waves about every twenty years to the point that it influences pop culture.  For instance, in the '70s, we had "Happy Days", remembering the '60s.  In the '80s, we had "The Wonder Years", looking back to the '60s.  In  the '90s, we had "That 70s Show", etc.

We love decade before the last one.  Conversely, we loathe the previous decade.  Growing up in the '80s, I hated that I used to wear bell bottoms in the '70s, but people started wearing them again in the late '90s.  (Not me.)

This nostalgia results in bands that sound like flashbacks to that time period.

As a teen in the late '80s, I started to take an interest in music from the '60s.  Not only was I wearing tie-dyes, but the music of the decade before I was born started to interest me.  Moreover, the bands of my teen years sounded like throwbacks to the '60s.  I'm not talking the Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Michael Jackson crap that was prevalent on the radio back then - I'm talking about the underground music scene.

R.E.M. sounded like the Byrds.  The Smiths definitely took their cue from those early days.  The Jesus & Mary Chain, the Stone Roses, the Primitives - most of these bands of the '80s were heavily influenced and used the distorted guitars and vocals usually associated with the psychedelic rock of the '60s like the Shangri-Las or the Mamas and the Papas.

Of course, they made the sound their own - with a modern twist, and by the '90s, it was a sub-genre of its own.  Bands like My Bloody Valentine and Lush had the swirling guitars of '60s rock (and an influence provided by Cocteau Twins, my favorite band, as well.)  The critics labeled this sub-genre "shoegazing", because the musicians usually played subdued and moody sets typified by the artists gazing down at their shoes while they played, their hair hanging in their faces.

When I look for new music, I will usually browse through mp3 sites.  I came across the band Sleigh Bells, but I didn't even consider listening to it because of the name.  It sounded too festive, too Christmasy.  The next day, however, my brother posted a link to one of Sleigh Bells videos on Facebook, and I was hooked.  (Plus their singer is hot.)  I downloaded their album "Reign of Terror".

When I listened to it, the first thing I did was think, "This sounds just like Lush."  The dreamy vocals and the watery guitars.  But I can look past that.  From everything that I have written above, I LIKE when artists pay homage to earlier eras.  I loved it when my favorite bands in the '80s sounded like bands from the '60s.  It allowed me to imagine that I lived in the '60s.  And I love that all of the good bands today sound like bands that I liked in the '80s.  It gives me the illusion that my tastes are still relevant.

The first track - "True Shred Guitar" - truly sucks.  The music is played over the noise of a cheering stadium with Alexis Krauss, the vocalist, shouting at the audience.  Then they launch into this faux heavy metal episode that is grating.  Not a good way to start an album.

By the second track (which is called "Born To Lose") I was hooked - the distorted guitars.  After that, there is not a bad song on the album.  My favorites are "Crush" and "End of the Line".  "Comeback Kid" is a great first single for the album.  "Leader of the Pack" almost seems like an homage to the Shangri-Las, and I say this because Krauss sings like she belongs in that group.  "Demons" is a much better attempt at heavy metal.  "Road to Hell" and "You Lost Me" are beautifully mellow and discordant.  The album closes out with the dreamy "D.O.A."

I really don't know much about Sleigh Bells as a band.  But I am grateful for the much-needed trip down memory lane.  I would definitely recommend this album.