Music Report 1Q 2007

It's been a while since I last posted on my music. Since then I've picked up a few noteworthy albums and discovered some interesting new music. Here's my quick review of what's ended up on my iPod in the first quarter of 2007.

Oh! Gravity. - Switchfoot

This album feels very similar to their previous two, but does have enough stand out tracks to warrant a full album download. Highlights for me are "American Dream", "Awakening", and "Burnout Bright".






The Chess Hotel - The Elms

The Elms are a group I've been hearing buzz about for the last few years, and The Chess Hotel is considered their breakthrough album. If you love the unpolished and unapologetic rock n roll of the Rolling Stones or the Seventy Sevens, you'll want to check these guys out. Stand out tracks include "I Am the World" and the title track.





Blue on Blue - Leigh Nash

Leigh Nash adds some diversity to my "guy rock" heavy playlists. I dug her ethereal pop vocals as a part of Sixpence None the Richer, and her solo debut offers more of the same with a more pop feel (comparable with "Kiss Me" in tone and lyrics). I recommend "My Idea of Heaven" and "Ocean Size Love" as good introductory tracks.



I've been using iTunes more. Two tracks from the Cars Soundtrack (btw, the movie has grown on me with repeated viewings) are popular with our entire family: Sheryl Crow's "Real Gone" and Rascal Flatt's cover of "Life Is a Highway" (which I like more than the original). Our girls beg for the "Cars Music" to dance around the house to. I'm also digging Tom Petty's "Saving Grace" from last year's Highway Companion cd.

I've also been listening to a new podcast by Dr. Tony Shore called The Obvious Popcast. Tony used to host a very hip alternative music radio show called the A Zone. That show provided the soundtrack to my brief graduate school bachelor days. Anyway, his podcast has introduced me to the world of Power Pop (a close relative of Prog Rock). The podcast is free and will introduce you to both the genre and the quirkiness that is Tony. Also checkout the Blog.

Thanks to the good "doctor", I've discovered three new tunes, that I recommend: The Dissociatives "Somewhere Down the Barrel", The Feeling's "Fill My Little World" and "Someone to Love" by Fountains of Wayne (all available online).