Pornography for your ears

Bamboozle 2012 | by 123677068

All Hail The Interweb!

On any given day, there are thousands of posts from music fans scolding technology for the death of ______ (insert “the garage band,” “rock and roll,” “punk,” whatever you see fit) due to loss of revenue.  As a self-proclaimed music geek, I used to spend hours digging through friends’ hard drives, iPods and even ambushing relatives/friends/anyone I knew to bring me music magazines from different continents.  Willing to listen to anything at least once, I was starting to find my music collection a little stale. 

I am one of those people who actually used to use Napster to find new music, not to steal it.  I would listen to an album, and if I liked it, I would go to the record store and buy it.  I know!  Unheard of, right?  I must be lying?  I’m not.  I was Girl Scout too, and will always live by the Girl Scout credo….  Which is…  Uh…  Whatever, you get my drift. 

Approximately a year ago, I finally caved to Twitter peer pressure, and was pleasantly surprised to find how many bands were very active on said social media platform.  Gone are the days of discovering bands playing your city via flyers, by going to each band’s website or, god forbid, their MySpace.  

They TELL you when they are coming and will usually remind their followers via feed postings.  What the….? 

Long story short, a separate Twitter completely devoted to music was necessary.  My “real life” friends’ feeds were being hijacked by my rants about last night’s show, or the highly-anticipated new Menzingers album, which, almost definitely, was something they did not appreciate.    

After building up what I thought to be the perfect feed…  Something crazy happened…  Bands I had never heard of started following me.  At first I wrote them off as pornographic spam, like my mom, who assumes any email not from her kids is the “I Love You” Virus…  These were real bands, and by some act of god, bands I like! Internet magic, I tell you!  That Bill Gates sure knows a thing or two!  (Of course, I know Bill Gates isn’t the king of the internet, some politician is… duh)    

The most recent additions to my Spotify rotation have been Farewell Fighter, The Falling Trance, The Coronation (not yet on Spotify) Promise of Redemption (Shane from Valencia's side project), The Product…  They’re good and I would never have found ANY of them had it not been for “The Twitter.”

 All hail the interweb!

A Victorious Return of the Elusive Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams –The Academy of Music

Since being exposed to Ryan Adams, I have revered him as a musical genius.  It’s very apparent that Adams has a tendency to drop out of the limelight for years at a time, and is somewhat private.  My silly assumption was that he was absolutely and completely out of his mind.  In my heart I believed that no talent of that level can exist on a plain with us normal people. 

Lo and behold, he’s not insane (but I’m also not a doctor).  He’s actually rather personable and incredibly entertaining. 

Normally, I attend shows at smaller venues that are packed with much younger crowds, meaning that there are cameras flashing the entire set, people checking smartphones, maybe even an altercation, etc.  I have never experienced the silence that settled over Academy of Music when Ryan Adams entered the auditorium and settled into his guitar.  Noticing the quiet, from my balcony seat, not one camera screen light was visible unless Adams was between songs.  The unspoken community respect shown for Adams was uncanny.  It was as if he was a mythical creature that nobody wanted to spook. 

Witnessing Ryan Adams perform felt like he had invited you into his living room to share an evening.  He had multiple guitars propped on their stands, a piano, a stool and a microphone.  Once he began playing, the sold-out venue with a capacity for 2,897, became an intimate gathering.  The height of the triple balcony venue would normally be a feat for a solo artist to conquer.  Adams not only surpassed expectations, but succeeded in reaching every listener as well as asking them to “be careful,” as he explained his fear of heights.

Between songs, Adams shared stories of his arrival in Philadelphia, watching two large, intoxicated men yell at each other on the street and the absolute humor he found in the scene.  As one of @theRyanAdams Twitter followers, I find particular joy in his constant obsession with the Ed Hardy-wearing host of Ghost Adventures.  Much to my elation, he shared at least one anecdote about the not-so-down-to-earth character, and I was officially sold that Ryan Adams is not only talented, but he really should be my new best friend.  (I’m only kidding, because that would be crazy, right?  Right???) 

Ryan shared approximately 20 songs with the audience, and each one successfully induced a sense that you were experiencing something magical.  New York, New York particularly resonated with me as he played on the piano, you could hear every intake of breath, and it may have even been better than the studio version.  

Ryan closed his set with Come Pick Me Up, which I, personally, have found to embody all that I love about him: the pain, the honesty and a little bit of humor.  After monstrous applause, he opted for an unorthodox encore of Round And Round by Ratt and apologized as he would not be able to play much longer or he would be forced to buy the union members employed at the venue “the equivalent of a yacht.”  Classic RA (That’s what I call him, as we are now best friends.)

Your Inferiority Complex Is Showing

Alternative Press | Features | Your Inferiority Complex Is Showing

2. Farewell Fighter's "Van Jams"

This is quite seriously one of the best playlists I have ever heard.  I had it on shuffle while completing the incredibly tedious task of packing to move and found it absolutely hysterical.

Kiss From A Rose.  Enough said.

Farewell Fighter Van Jams | by leeroymo

1. Jon Diener's Windows Down Playlist

Due to the fact that I am currently in a show-lull while relocating (Don't worry, I'm staying in Philly) and my siblings/friends are experiencing a baby boom, I thought I'd share some Spotify playlists that are keeping me pacified.

Number 1.  Jon Diener from the Swellers "Windows Down" playlist.  He might be my new hero...  Enjoy.

Windows Down Playlist | by 126184941