New Field Music album on the way

Just received a notification that the new Field Music album Plumb is available for preorder in iTunes. The release date is set for February 12th. Should be worth listening!

My Favourite Albums of 2011

Contrary to what I hoped at the end of last year, and as you can see by the very meagre output on this blog, I didn't get enough time to listen to new music. I still managed, however, to find a few gems here and there. As with the last couple of years, most of my music came in through eMusic. I didn't get enough time to trawl through sites like Bandcamp or even Twitter for new music. Bandcamp is high on my music searching agenda in 2012 as is Kompoz.

It seems to me that this year, a number of Folk bands on both sides of the Atlantic made it heavily into the mainstream media and had a bigger influence in music. I think this influenced my list this year a little bit.

5. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Girls is a an American indie group (more like a duo) that came into prominence with their first album back in late 2009. There was a lot of buzz around at the time and I dutifully checked their album. I remember thinking this is to raw for my liking and the sound is a bit off. It never grew on me.

Much to my surprise, I really liked "Father, Son, Holy Ghost". It has a fuller sound, better production and it feels overall like a better thought out and more structured album. The record is divided in two parts. The first few songs are pretty up tempo and cheerful, while the second part turns more introspective. I'm sure there is more to get out of it if you pay attention to the lyrics, I never do! The single Vomit received a lot of praise from bloggers and established magazines alike when it came out. My favourite track of the album however is Forgiveness.

4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took me by surprise when I discovered Belong as one of the featured albums en emusic back in April. Another American indie band, this time from NY, but with a very different sound. It took me back to the days when I was in college and I listened to music all the time, yet the sound was fresh and new to me despite the fact that you can hear the early 90's fuzzy indie scene influences all over it.

I am not sure whether this is an album that will last the test of time, but in 2011, I listened to it over and over again.

I simply love Heart in your heartbreak.

3. Bird of Youth - Defender

Bird of Youth is one of those folky acts I referred to at the top of the post. Not sure if this particular one has actually made it into the mainstream yet! I don't know anything about them except the brief bio on their website that mainly talks about Beth Wawerna's musical birth and not much else. The Album was released by Jagjaguwar records and produced by Phil Palazzolo along with Okkervil River’s Will Sheff. However it is not listed on the label's website except for a reference where they were supporting Okkervil River on a show back in December.

Another emusic discovery, this is a pretty folksy album with good melodies and an overall feel good element to it, I had to listen to it over and over again. I couldn't get enough of it.

I hope they don't fade into obscurity!

2. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning

My list wouldn't usually include Grammy nominated albums. However, in early December, GFD was nominated for a Grammy in the Category of Best Surround Sound Mix.

I think Steven Wilson is one of the musical geniuses of the 21st century. A very prolific artist with a number of different outlets primarily driven by Porcupine Tree. Despite this prolificness, GFD is only Steven Wilson's second album. For me, this was one of the most anticipated albums of 2011. Back in the summer, SW put out a teaser on his website with cuts from every single track of the album. From there, I knew that GFD was going to be something special. This is a complex album that is difficult to explain. I hesitate to call it a prog rock album for a number if reasons, but it definitely is one, it is more eclectic than that though. It has some pop elements but also borrows heavily from jazz. One of the biggest achievements in my mind is the fact that despite being a huge piece of work, it doesn't suffer from the over the top flamboyance very commonly associated with prog rock groups.

You can see videos of some of the songs, including some live cuts on the album link above and judge for yourself. Simply beautiful.

1. Lisa Hannigan - Passenger

And from the expansive musical landscape that is GFD, I move to an album that used as a first sigle a song that starts with a Ukulele.

It is no secret that I think Lisa Hannigan is one of the best Irish musicians out there. I simply loved See Saw when it came out back in 2008. It made it to my first list of albums of the year. I was a bit apprehensive about Lisa's new album. What if she turned out to be a one trick pony that only managed to get from under the shadow of one Damien Rice for a brief moment. I shouldn't have worried, I feel that with Passenger, Lisa Hannigan planted herself firmly amongst the leading group of Irish artists currently out there.

Passenger is a beautifully crafted album that just begs to be listened over and over again. As with See Saw, this is one of those albums that I see myself going back to from time to time in the years to come.

Other Stuff

Some other interesting albums included the third installment of one Matt Stevens, mentioned a few times around here before. Also some new music by ASIWFA, The Aristocrats, Laura Marling and Adele.

Probably the most interesting discovery I made this year was the Australian brother and sister duo of Angus & Julia Stone and their related solo albums.

The biggest musical disappointment was definitely the new Yes album.

As for Live Music, this year I didn't go to as many concerts as I would have hoped and will forever be marked as the year I saw Justin Bieber live in concert! On a more serious note, over the summer there were a few good gigs, including Journey and Foreigner. I saw Rush with Geedy Lee play live (and they played La Villa Strangiato!). But the event of the year had to be Roger Waters' show The Wall.

It might sound like a strange choice after you have read the full post above, but the track of the year for me was Adele's Someone Like You.

Even if I don't get enough time to listen to all the music I want in 2012, I know I will discover some new and noteworthy music worth talking about at the end of the year.

Roger Waters, The Wall Live at the O2 Dublin - May 23, 2011

Words are not enough to describe the show earlier today at the O2. It was the most technologically advanced show I have ever seen. Probably the best sound I have ever experienced and overall one of the most fantastic live experiences any rock concert goer will ever have. According to some critics, this is probably the most ambitious rock tour ever conceived.

We had everything from the headmaster puppet to the walking hammers and even the now classic flying pig.

Similar to the concerts in 1980, a wall is built during the first part of the show only to be brought down at the end of the show. The wall is used as a screen where a multitude of CGI graphics and cartoons from original movie are shown. I would like for someone to explain to me how it works. Every time a new brick is added, a couple of seconds later images start to appear on that brick. It is incredible. I'm sure there will be a DVD at some stage, and it will be worth getting. I suspect that, contrary to what happened back in 1980 where the band lost a significant amount of money, this tour will make a lot of Money for Mr. Waters.

The only thing missing was the voice of David Gilmour on Comfortably Numb!

The setlist is the same as the live shows in 1980, with a couple of extra songs not on the original album:

Set one

In The Flesh?

The Thin Ice

Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1

The Happiest Days Of Our Lives

Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2

Mother

Goodbye Blue Sky

Empty Spaces

What Shall We Do Now?

Young Lust

One Of My Turns

Don't Leave Me Now

Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3

The Last Few Bricks

Goodbye Cruel World

Set two

Hey You

Is There Anybody Out There?

Nobody Home

Vera

Bring The Boys Back Home

Comfortably Numb

The Show Must Go On

In The Flesh

Run Like Hell

Waiting For The Worms

Stop

The Trial

Outside The Wall

Rush live at the O2 Dublin - May 12, 2011

Yesterday I was given a masterclass on how to produce and perform a rock show. Rush, the Canadian power trio finally made it to Ireland. For me, it was a long wait... Over 25 years since I first discovered their music. It was either Tom Sawyer or Red Barchetta. Whatever song it was, it was from the album Moving Pictures. It was worth the wait! It couldn't have been scripted better. The Time Machine tour, is the tour where they are playing the whole of Moving Pictures, non-stop.

The setlist was exactly as expected, and for the people outside looking in, this might sound boring and predictable, but for most Rush fans is what makes the band so exciting to watch. While you may know what song is coming next, you still don't know what to expect. And when you get a chance to see performances of songs like La Villa Strangiato... There are no words that can quite describe the experience.

The attention to detail is extraordinary. The movies at the beginning and end of the show are just fantastic. The "Jesus Mary and Joseph" from O'Malley was received with a chuckle from the audience. The moving lightning rig was amazing. And even things like the sampling of Aimee Mann's voice in Time Stands Still, or Alex Lifeson playing the bass pedals for the keyboard solos in Subdivisions and Red Barchetta. Fantastic!

I have been playing the bass as a hobby for many years, so being able to see Geddy Lee perform live, was a treat in itself. Wow!

It wouldn't be a Rush concert without the drum solo. There are no words to describe it! I'm sure this will be released as a live DVD at some point, so my advice is to go an buy it.

For those interested in the guitars, Alex played manly Gibson Les Paul's, many of them with tremolos. The PRS's are long gone, although he did use one for one of the songs. He used a 12 string acoustic (Martin I think) for the intro on Closer to the Heart. He also used a strat and a tele for a song each and finished the set with a white Gibson ES-335.

Geddy, used a couple of Fender Jazz Basses, both with maple necks. Not that common these days, but I have to admit that I much prefer maple over any other neck on my bass. It is incredible the sound that he gets out of that thing!

As for the chimpanzees, they played an Epiphone Les Paul, and a Squire Jazz Bass!

The picture is from Alan Moore's Audioaperture flickr's stream.

Preview - Rush live at the O2, Dublin - April 12, 2011 Dublin

I've been a Rush fan for the last 25 years or maybe more. I've never had the chance to enjoy their live experience first hand. If their live albums, DVDs and hundreds of reviews are anything to o by, it is an amazing experience!

This will change on Thursday!

Here is the expected set list to wet the appetite:

• "The Spirit of Radio"
• "Time Stand Still"
• "Presto"
• "Stick It Out"
• "Workin' Them Angels"
• "Leave That Thing Alone"
• "Faithless"
• "BU2B" (from Clockwork Angels)
• "Freewill"
• "Marathon"
• "Subdivisions"

Intermission

• "Tom Sawyer"
• "Red Barchetta"
• "YYZ"
• "Limelight"
• "The Camera Eye"
• "Witch Hunt"
• "Vital Signs"
• "Caravan" (from Clockwork Angels)
• "Love 4 Sale" (Drum solo)
• "Closer To The Heart"
• "2112 Overture / The Temples of Syrinx"
• "Far Cry"

Encore:

• "La Villa Strangiato" (with polka intro)
• "Working Man" (with reggae intro and Cygnus X-1: Book I outro)

Just google and read any review from a blog to get the picture!

Databases on the iPhone / iPod Touch - Updated!

Back in August of 2008 I wrote a post about some database applications available for the iPod Touch / iPhone. You can find the original post in this blog somewhere.

I think it is time for an update. As there have been a lot of new apps added to the App Store over the last 2 years, some of which are worth exploring.

• First of all a quick update. FMTouch has come down in price significantly! It is now only €7.99. It makes it a lot more accessible. Still I haven't gone for it.
  
  
• I still use CSV Touch as it is a very simple way to carry data around. With good search capabilities. However, CSV touch forces you to have a essentially a materialized view of your data as you can not perform any joins between different tables. You can think of it as carrying a number of reports on your iPhone.
  
  

Since I want to play around with SQL, I have looked at a few options. Note, there are a lot more options available these days, including things like HanDBase or AppCreator that let you develop more application like forms on the iPhone, or even clients that let you connect to corporate databases and keep copies of the data on your phone.

So to choose, I ran a search for sqlite on the App Store, and after reading about the different app features I settled on SQLite Editor as it seems to have the most features available. I am only starting with it, but so far, so good.

As always, comments are welcomed!

Julie Feeney in New York 2011 - Video

Julie just posted this beautiful video on YoutTube. It has live excerpts of Grace and Love is a tricky thing as well as a fantastic live version of Impossibly Beautiful.

Worth checking out.



Google Arbutus Yarns for some more fantastic videos