Rhode Island for Sale

Last night I had a dream that I made a lot of money in the stock market. Granted this sounds about as exciting as a dream where you're filing paper work or collating documents, but add explosions and overblown CGI and it may as well have been a summer blockbuster. I'm talking "vivid" here. It was the kind of dream where you wake up and can't shake the feeling that it was true, but as you unravel the absurdities of your personal dream space it becomes apparent that you've just been punk'd by your own sub-conscious mind.

In the dream I apparently had about 20 shares in the state of Rhode Island (I'm assuming this was in some future world where the capitalization of the country has made the very states a traded commodity) and I was checking my portfolio online when all of a sudden the price jumped. I've never actually sold any stocks before so I wasn't quite sure how it all worked. In the dream it was very much like when you're buying tickets for a concert that you know is going to sell out from a vendor you've never used before. You end up getting tickets for the seats you want, but you only have 5 minutes to finish the purchase process and now you have to go through all this rigamarole to register yourself on the site as well as pay for the damn things. It was the same deal in the dream. The price of Rhode Island was fluctuating wildly and I had to jump through all these hoops: setting up a user profile, deciphering capcha codes, the whole nine yards. Eventually I was able to figure the whole process out and ended up selling my 20 shares in Rhode Island for about 100k. Not a bad return for such a small state, if you ask me.

I Came, I Saw, I Skyrimmed

After over 200 hours split between 3 characters, I have completed all 50 Steam achievements for Skyrim and I think I may finally be ready to put the game to rest ... at least until there's some DLC.

There will be a much larger post about Skyrim in the near future, but for now I've decided to commemorate my adventures with these wallpapers:

Senric - Dark Elf Theif @ Bard's Leap Summit (my "main" character)

Steps-Into-The-Fire - Argonian Mage @ The College of Winterhold

Eowyn - Nord Warrior @ Bleak Falls Barrow

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 1

Self Titled by Office of Future Plans

Twitter: @officeplans

Band Website: www.officeoffutureplans.com

Well, this was bound to happen. After letting this album sit on “repeat” on my iPod for over a week straight when it was released there is really no other album I can pick as my #1 for the year. To say that I was a fan of this album before it ever arrived is probably a bit of an understatement. As a fan of J. Robbins work over the last 2 decades (even though I’ve only been listening for the last 6 years or so) I was eagerly awaiting this release, but nothing could have prepared me for what they served up.

Office of Future Plans full-length debut pulls no punches and leaves no ground uncovered. This is an album by a group of incredibly talented musicians at the top of their game and having a blast. From the moment J’s guitar strums the first notes of Salamander I am hooked by this album and once Brooks’ bass and Derek’s drums join the procession, there’s no turning back. This album runs the gamut from full on punk, to mellow indie rock, and all the subtle gradation in-between. While J’s influence is unmistakable, this is definitely an ensemble album. There’s a little bit of every band member present here and the fact that it all gels so perfectly is what makes it shine. I could go on about this some more, but there’s little I could say that I haven’t said already.

This album was both expected and surprising. I knew I’d be a fan before I even heard it, but I had no idea how much. I have to wish Office of Future Plans the best of luck with this release because it’s truly brilliant and these guys deserve some major recognition.  This is an accessible, fun, well-written, well-played album that I think can appeal to a broad range of listeners. Check it out and judge for yourself. Maybe it will end up being your album of the year too.

Key Tracks: Salamander, Abandon, FEMA Coffins

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 2

No Composure by Be My Doppelganger

Spotify: Be My Doppelganger – No Composure

Twitter: @bmdoppelganger

Band Website: www.myspace.com/bemydoppelganger

First off, I have to qualify the following statements by saying that while this is NOT a 2011 album (it was released and I purchased it in 2010) I really didn’t give it a good listen until 2011 … and then I continued to listen to it many, many times. Every year, when the weather gets warmer, I find my musical taste begins to shift very quickly towards all things punk and hardcore. There seems to be a direct correlation between the air temperature, the amount which my car windows are opened, and the likelihood of something loud and fast coming out of my speakers. This year, more often than not, it was No Composure by Be My Doppelganger.

There are few bands that, when people say “punk is dead”, I will hold up as evidence to the contrary. Certainly Ted Leo is on that list, along with Dead to Me, Hollowpoints and now Be My Doppelganger has joined the ranks. With a sound reminiscent of both the fast and fun shredding of late 80’s/early 90’s mall/skate punk as well as the heavier melodic kick of mid/late 90’s hardcore, No Composure is high-energy music for punks that just want to have a good time. The album leads off with Ignition On, a loud and fast warning shot across the bow of the listener to let them know it’s OK to get pumped for this record. Cha Cha Chump follows soon after in what can best be described as a major label pop-punk hit that someone has gone and done right by virtue of NOT adding 4 extra verses, more reverb than the Grand Canyon, and a string section in the background. Turning Seventeen is either the quickest ballad ever played, the most “punk” love song ever written, or both, while Peggy, Sue Me gives us the obligatory “solo vocals and guitar” track for this album, but still manages to maintain some bravado and balls. What you end up with on No Composure is a perfect punk soundtrack for summer; it’s clean and uncomplicated, lo-fi and deliberate, but without sounding low quality or under-produced. This is basement punk rock for a new generation.

I don’t know what the future holds for Be My Doppelganger, but with any luck they’ll record something new for 2012 and maybe even do some touring. I think it would be great to see these guys at one of the punk showcases at SXSW this year, both because I’d love to hear this stuff played live, but also because I know that with a little more visibility they could catch on with others the way they have with me.

Key Tracks: Ignition On, Cha Cha Chump, Maybe It Was Your Fault

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 3

The King is Dead by The Decemberists

Spotify: The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

Twitter: @TheDecemberists

Band Website: www.decemberists.com

How do you follow an album like The Hazards of Love? Talk about digging your own grave. What’s next after an epic 17 song narrative concept piece, more of the same? The answer could make or break you. I would like to say that I felt bad for Colin Meloy of The Decemberists for having put himself in that situation, but he proved more than up to the task by managing to actually pull off a decent (if not different) follow up this year.

For their 6^th LP, The Decemberists shirked concept entirely and released a palette cleanser of an album with The King is Dead. On this record we find The Decemberists trading baroque pop-rock for a decidedly more folk-rock sound and succeeding in every possible way. Where previous records often conjured images of a decidedly more European flavor (Legionaires, Chimbley Sweeps, and the like) The King is Dead’s stripped down yet masterfully played and well-rounded songs feel more like classic Americana. While the themes, language, and musical virtuosity remain the same as ever, the intent is simpler and more relaxed; the songs themselves seem less self-conscious. The end result is an incredible album that is honestly difficult for me to dissect because I find myself loving every minute of it, from the hoedown beat of Calamity Song, to the weeping guitar of Dear Avery.

The Decemberists may very well decide to return to the more baroque sound of their previous albums in the future, but I’d like to think that with The King is Dead they have discovered another dimension to their music. I don’t expect future releases to sound like this one, just like I didn’t expect this one to sound like The Hazards of Love, but I’d love to see this aspect of the band show up again. When all is said and done it’s just great to see this group continue to grow and challenge themselves.

Key Tracks: Calamity Song, Down by the Water, This is Why We Fight

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 – Number 4

Last Looks by The Sour Notes

Spotify: The Sour Notes – Last Looks

Twitter: @TheSourNotes

Band Website: www.thesournotes.com

The Sour Notes were one of the first local bands that I looked up after moving to Austin in 2009, based on what I believe was a review in the Chronicle that fall. At the time they had released The Meat of the Fruit EP and the Received in Bitterness LP. I ended up acquiring the former and while I enjoyed it, didn’t think too much about them afterwards. Fast-forward to early 2011 and one night while browsing Waterloo Records for something else entirely I come across Last Looks, the latest release by The Sour Notes. Not having been offended by their debut EP and having come up empty handed in my primary record search, I decided to pick it up. What followed was a month-long love affair with this record and a desire to consume everything else the band had recorded in the interim.

Last Looks is a featherweight powerhouse of an album that all at once evokes thoughts of early Radiohead, a less European Blonde Redhead, a less pretentious Arcade Fire, Spoon without the swagger, and Death Cab for Cutie with bigger balls and louder guitars. From Nothing More Contagious Than Evil’s anxious and ominous opening through the subtle (but massive) build of As Crude as Watercolor, and on to Particularly Shrill’s airy adieu, Last Looks is a collection of catchy and competent tunes that finishes all too quickly, but begs to be replayed. The production and mix leave little to be desired as subtle textures and delicate flourishes accent and enhance each track and ultimately make for a homegrown recording that many bigger bands could learn a thing or two from.

With three LPs in as many years, a split with Austin up-and-comers Marmalakes dropping later this month, and a fourth full-length planned for later this year, there is no stopping The Sour Notes and I couldn’t be more pleased for that fact. The only thing I could hope for is that more people check out The Sour Notes and get these guys the recognition they deserve both in and outside of Austin in 2012 and beyond.

Key Tracks: Hot Pink Flares, As Crude as Watercolor, Particularly Shrill

Related Info: For more great year-end lists featuring Austin musicians, head over to ovrld.com ... NOW!

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 5

White Silence by Cave In

Spotify: Cave In – White Silence

Band Website: Hydra Head Shop - Cave In

For almost their entire career Cave In’s EPs have been harbingers of what’s to come for the band’s next full-length recordings. Creative Eclipse’s spacey experimentalism was followed by the supernova that was Jupiter, while Tides of Tomorrow’s more poppy leanings heralded the oft-maligned major label release Antenna. It should be no surprise then that after 2005’s almost retrospective sounding reunion album Perfect Pitch Black, 2010’s grinding Planets of Old EP would give way to 2011’s full-length return to metalcore White Silence.

Proving that you can always go home again, White Silence bellows, chugs, and grinds its way through 35 minutes of classic-sounding Cave In. This is a band that, despite taking some sonic detours in their time, has managed to take the best of all possible worlds and combine them yet again. While tracks like the titular White Silence and Vicious Circles sound more like a return to Until Your Heart Stops-era Cave In, the 8 minute space-metal monster Sing My Loves, Summit Fever’s almost progressive loftiness, and the comparatively quiet psychedelic strains of Heartbreaks, Earthquakes all owe something to the Jupiter era in some form and prove this is a band that has come full circle.

Is this the last Cave In album? Who knows? I doubt even the band members themselves know for sure. Having seen them on a small tour in support of White Silence however gives me hope. One thing is for sure: whether they keep making new albums or not, Cave In has risen from the ashes of major label ruination louder, stronger, and better than ever before.

Key Tracks: White Silence, Sing My Loves, Summit Fever

My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 1
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 2
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 3
My Top 5 Albums of 2011 - Number 4