Monday, April 18, 2011

Listen to the sound of my voice

Recently, I appeared as a "special guest" on a podcast over at OnTapKC, with my friends Corey and Beau. This is sort of ties in with Stone Week, as new beers coming to the KCMO area are discussed (albeit somewhat obliquely at times, we hit nearly ever tangent we can, including a brief time talking about the beer Lent guy). Below is a link to part 1, cleverly titled Abbey Road - Side A (it'll make sense if you read the description, I swear). Give it a listen (fair warning: bad words are said, many times, and there are adult situations), as I prepare myself mentally and physically for the marathon that will be the next few days as Stone takes over the city.

OnTapCast Episode 6: Abbey Road - Side A

Friday, February 25, 2011

Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing

I'm dusting off the cobwebs today to let everyone know about some wonderful music.


The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp from Saddle Creek on Vimeo.


Yeah that's awesome. Great video, great song. New stuff from Rural Alberta Advantage. They have a new album out, Departing (official release date is March 1, but you can "preorder" the digital edition, and download it now). It's damn good, so you should probably go get it right now. It's OK, I'll wait here.

Now, I will start off by saying something negative about it. It's a short album. The ten songs clock in just over 30 minutes. It's not a bad problem to have, I'd much rather have something come off too short as opposed to too long. Too short leaves you wanting more. Too long, you get bored. (This is actually the same way I felt with their Hometowns album too, these guys are good at leaving you wanting more.)

That's the only bad thing I can say about this album. It's great. It's follows Hometowns well, delivering the same sound, same "emotional without being emo" lyrics, and same Canadian-centric themes. I dig it. While I think Hometowns might have a song or two that are better individually, Departing is the better album, each song is solid. (I'd really love to listen to both albums back-to-back, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I think they'd flow together pretty well.) The highlights for me include "Stamp" (shown above), "Barnes' Yard," and "Goodnight," below, from SXSW a few year ago. Such a fantastic song. Enjoy it, get the album, listen, and enjoy it some more. If you're lucky enough to have them playing in your area, check them out. And if you have a place for me to crash, let me know and I'll join you.


(oh and PS - Amy Cole is super freaking adorable, she's my latest bandgirl crush. It's serious.)