New Album!

Over the course of my college career there have been hundreds of albums that I have acquired. Some of these albums are just part of the absurdly long list of songs in my iTunes. Other albums still continue to be played as regularly as they did when I first got them. In my time here there were several albums that came out that I could not wait for. These albums, I was not alone in my anticipation, and as such there were listening parties for these albums.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

The first album this ever happened for came in late winter of Freshman year. I was never a die-hard Modest Mouse album. At this point in my life I shunned most of their earlier stuff, really only latching on to Moon and Antarctica and Good News For People Who Like Bad News. Tom Murphy is a huge fan, however, and as I mentioned before, spent a lot of time in my dorm room that year. As such, Modest Mouse became a regular in my music rotation and my excitement about their upcoming release built. The band would be having two tracks with guest vocals from Shins' front man James Mercer and they had added Johnny Mar from the Smiths as a guitarist.

I remember we listened to that entire album straight through. I sat at my desk for most of it, just taking it all in. Up until this point I had never really taken my first listen of an album too seriously, but starting this night I began doing my best to make my first listen of an album I cared about to be one where I listened from start to finish in one sitting, doing little else. Throughout this entire listen Tom was all over the place in my room, dancing around on chairs and whatever else. I remember it being late, but it didn't matter, we were loving every minute of this album.

Chiodos - Bone Palace Ballet

As part of my effort to branch out sophomore year I instantly started spending time with Chris Camisa. Almost immediately after we came back to college, Chiodos released Bone Palace Ballet. I got into the band at the end of High School and was excited about the new release. Having listened to one of the songs that was released on their myspace a few weeks prior, I couldn't wait to hear the whole album. Chris' friend, I believe, sent him the album and I hurried over to listen to it, accompanied by Kristen.

Unfortunately by the time he got the album it was pretty late and as would be evident throughout the rest of the year, the walls were thin, and his neighbors had an early bed time. I remember being crowded around the computer barely being able to talk because of how low the music had to be. This was unfortunate because the first listen should be at moderate to loud volume for any album so you can hear all of it and let it engulf you.

There were several moments of silent but substantial reactions we all shared at absurd pinch harmonics or shrill vocal notes. At the end of the album I felt tired, not because of how intense the album is (it is, however) but because I had been slightly hunched over and sitting in close-to-silence for 40 minutes.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

On October 1st after 4 years since their last full album, Radiohead announced that in 10 days their new album would be available for download in their famous 'pay what you want' format. Until this announcement, news of their new album had gone cold. There had been scattered reports in the previous year of them spending time in the studio, maybe wrapping things up, going back to the studio, etc. Then after a stretch of nothing, the band emerged with this announcement.

October 10th, 2007. 2 am. I finally got my email and downloaded the album. I remember my first reaction was "only 10 tracks!" I, like Modest Mouse, had not gotten into Radiohead until college and mostly at the hand of Tom Murphy. I had an album or two before college and liked some of their songs a whole lot but that all increased with Tom. So, at 2 am the two of us sat down in my dorm room and pressed play. I remember the smile that hit both of us as the first track switched from the electronic sound they had showcased so much on the past two albums and Thom's solo effort to the full band. This listening party was much different than the last. There was almost a reverence to it. There was no dancing around, there was no real activity. The two of us just sat there and listened to the whole thing. I remembered when it ended I considered starting it over just because of how quick it went by. But the combination of the somberness of the last track and the time it now was, we called it a night. This album, to date, holds the most plays on my iTunes.

Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Separation

Several other albums came and went before my next, and really last listening party. I could not wait for this album. This first time I listened to Underoath was a combination of disbelief and intrigue. Fall of my Junior Year of High school a girl I worked with burned or lent me about 30 albums she had based on a few things I told her I listened to. Included in these would be Saosin's Translating The Name and Underoath's They're Only Chasing Safety. The first time I listened to Safety, I immediately was stunned. I had never heard music were 90% of the vocals were screaming. I listened to screaming in music before with The Used and such, but there was always a vast majority of singing over screaming. This album, which starts with a bang, totally caught me off guard. I remember bringing the cd to a friend's house who was my drummer at the time and putting it on. We both laughed at how absurd it was. There was nothing but screaming. Skipped track after track. Even one or two that started quiet or with singing eventually went right back to screaming. But for some reason, when I left his house that night I wanted to listen again. I wanted to hear it in full. Something about those brief listens had caught my attention and I needed to hear more.

Years later and after the release of their gargantuan album Define The Great Line, they were releasing Lost In The Sound Of Separation. Chris Camisa, now a roommate of mine, had gotten the album before me, and put it on his iPhone. He brought it in and told me to brace myself, the copy he got was shitty quality. He still thought it was good enough to listen to and insisted I do so. He plugged it into my speakers and pressed play. The album opens with heavy drums with a lot of reverb, vocals pushed in the back and no music. Also, it only was coming out of one channel. I was instantly bummed at the quality and braced myself for frustration through the next 35 minutes. The song, just as it starts seemingly ends with a sloppy drum fill and then with a little fuzz in the background you can tell it's coming back. It's rearing it's ugly head. Blasting out of both speakers now and in incredible quality, the first track comes into full force and it is as brutal, if not more so, that their previous effort, continuing the path of that and it's predecessor. I looked over to see him smiling, knowing he tricked me into thinking this copy was a poor quality copy.

The next 35 minutes flew by and I was instantly addicted. Very rarely do albums hit me enough to make me put them on repeat. I listen to a lot of different music and my most played song has only been played about 30 times, and I have had it for 3 years now. So when I say that a roommate of mine after 2 days commented about how I was going to wear it out by playing it so much, its a substantial thing to mention. Some people feel/felt that this album was more of the same after Define. To me I saw it as a whole new monster. Lyrically it was much much darker and more personal. Musically, it felt more together. The previous album they tried their hand at something new and it was beautiful. Now they had mastered it. The tones, the arrangements, the planned looseness of the songs, some feeling like they might fall apart at any second because of how chaotic and dirty it sounded, it all just blew me away. It is my go-to album when I am looking for something brutal to put on.

I am sure there are a few other albums whose first listens were with the company of others, but these ones stand out in my head. Each of these albums are albums I still listen to and ones I can remember vividly, the excitement for the release, the energy while listening to them, etc. It's a magical thing to be this interested and this moved about the release of new music. It's the excitement that has disappeared in a lot of ways due to album leaks and the instant gratification of the digital download. I try my best to not ever get an album before it's release date even if it leaks. This year especially I have bought more music than I have in a while. All of the music I have bought is physical copies, and there is definitely a sense of added joy when you have the physcial copy, the album art, or the vinyl, paging through the rows of cds or records in a store searching for a new release. It's magical.

Music should be shared. Buying it in person, with other music lovers is part of the experience intended by the art form. We go in droves to witness a new movie, and music is the same. Listening to an album with a bunch of people, a bunch of friends, for the first time is a great experience and one I suggest you try.

Being A Part Of Something

There is this electricity that comes with recognizing that you have just taken part in something with a room full of strangers. Certain moments in life where people collectively accomplish something leave the individual with an incredible internal sensation.

While the moment I am referring to was not really life changing or charitable, it was still one that left me in a state of awe. The fall of my Junior Year, myself along with a few friends went to see Feist in the city. I really enjoy her music and had seen her once before, prior to actually getting to know her music. She was supporting Bright Eyes on a non-album tour and instantly caught my attention.

A few years later she would put out The Reminder, and further convince me of her music talent. I don't remember being terrible excited for this show. Feist, while very good, isn't someone who is necessarily exciting. Her music is very subtle in its upbeat-ness. The show turned out to be very much enjoyable. It would probably have been a little better at a seated venue as it is not the style that you need to be on your feet for.

About midway through the set, Leslie started talking to us about something she wanted to try. Trying to decide how to split up the audience, she eventually chose first letter of your first name. So she would pick a series of letters, say A-E. She would then assign people in this group a note to sing. First she would hold the note, and she would then have everyone join in. She did this for the entire alphabet, assigning everyone something to sing.

Not everyone can sing. Further than that, even less people are able to reproduce a note they aren't currently hearing. It is one thing for someone to say, "sing AHHH" and you open your mouth, start producing a note somewhere near there, and adjust until you match it. It is a whole different monster to be told a note to sing, and then 2-5 minutes later (depending on where you fell in the alphabet and how late or early you got your note-assignment) reproduce that note without any guide.

So, with almost no hope that this would be anything other than very comedic and a fun task, I closed my eyes and listened to her count down. And then I was no longer in a the crowd of a concert in the city. Instead, I transported. Instantly I was in the middle of a one thousand member choir in a giant church of some sort. Somehow, despite everything pointing against this as a good idea, or how little chance there was of it sounding good, we sounded together. Moreso, we sounded beautiful. Everyone, still holding their notes looked around and started to smile. We were all in disbelief of what we had accomplished. It was so pure and so unexpected I can still recall how it sounded, what I saw when I opened my eyes, and how it felt. It was something incredibly spectacular to be apart of. A room of over one thousand people joined together by singing one thing. It was different than the crowd chanting along lyrics. There was this sense of accomplishment that propelled the moment beyond that and into something really fantastic.

I have been to almost one hundred concerts and I have so many great memories but this is the richest one.

(here is an example of what we did. in this show she used birth year instead of the alphabet)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JThX433Kc2I&feature=related