Geek Fire

Yes, geeky I am and have always been, but unconventionally; I'm OBSESSED with the Lord of the Rings films, but I never finished the books... and many more examples just like that.

So I've indulged in my geeklove (in German, geeklieb), and wrote a new tune inspired by Frodo. No, I am not kidding, and yes, I'm a bit embarrassed... It's called Getting By and I'm debating whether or not to add the rock cliche parenthetical ("Getting By (Frodo)")

I got my start in the computer geek world in 1986 when my parents got me my beloved Commodore 64. I won't tell the story here, but I was knee-deep in the BBS world at age 12.

Anyway, I find very interesting the kind of things that become popular in the geek niche world (Jonathan Coulton being a great example). I'm no code monkey, but I feel a kinship with them - maybe it's the discouragement of anything mainstream or from the conformed world.

On a related note, Coulton is such a great example of a new path to success for the indy musician: niche writing. The key is not to be too deliberate. But that's another post.

I discovered this Zoe Keating today. Very interesting stuff - she's an avant-cellist (self proclaimed), and huge in the geekdom (check out her Google performance with Radiolab) - why is yet another blog post.

5 New Albums That Blow Me Away

We music lovers went through a long-ass drought from the late-nineties through a couple years ago. Uggh, it was awful. Not as bad as late-eighties, but pretty nasty.

I get so energized and inspired when I continually am exposed to new music, easily found now, that is original, catchy, creative as hell, and doesn't sound like something that I won't listen to in a couple years. This stuff sounds classic to me. So stoked.

There are other albums than these five, but I'll save em for future posts. These are fueling me right now. [In no order]:

INFINITE ARMS by Band of Horses  -  I haven't been into a new album like this in a while. Every track is classic, passionately executed, and just freaking awesome.

FURR by Blitzen Trapper  -  Nary do I like a concept album, or even count lyrics as being just as worthwhile as the music, but in this case, I've made an exception. I realize it's not their latest (Destroyer of the Void), but I'm still processing that.

THE SUBURBS by Arcade Fire  -  Oh, the songwriting, the originality, and the production - so sweet. It's like Bowie and Talking Heads and raw eggs all mixed together.

FREE AT LAST by Josh Fix  -  Power Pop Goodness, kids. One-man-band mentality that appeals to me, with all the bells and whistles, but the songwriting is there, and that's what makes it.

VS4 by Jack Conte  -  He of Pomplamoose (purveyor of the VideoSong), but this is his one-man-band solo record, and it's all over the place stylistically, but SUPER-catchy and so well done. Loving it right now.

In fact, let's do a Conte standout-track vid here.  Sw'!