Nothing to report again today. Still waiting.
Nothing to report. I have meetings all morning this morning and would love to have the PDA for note-taking and boredom-reduction. Oh well…
On the other hand, I did get a new car stereo last night which is getting installed on Friday. And tomorrow they should be turning on the DSL at the house… woohoo for broadband internet! Now if I could only get my home network functioning…
I pre-ordered Chris Rice’s new album, amusing, back a couple of months ago when it was advertised by eb+flo. This is Chris’s first album with his new record label, INO, so I was looking forward to hearing what the effort would sound like. The album doesn’t hit the stores until tomorrow (Tuesday August 23rd), but I received my copy in the mail last Friday. Having now had the chance to listen to it a couple times, I’ll hazard an opinion or two.
The Music
Musically, Chris makes the most of being on a new record label that has, apparently, given him much more musical freedom. The styles are varied; from the Steven Curtis Chapman-esque bluesy-country-rock of Love Like Crazy, to the made-for-adult-contemporary-radio sound of When Did You Fall, to the quiet piano-driven tones of Sleepyhead Sun, he explores many sounds that will a suprise to those familiar with his discography. I could complain that it isn’t very cohesive in sound, but that’s the case with most of Chris’s albums, so I won’t suddenly hold it against him now.
The Content
The subject matter of the songs is perhaps also typically varied; he includes a couple songs that deal with romantic love which lead me to wonder if he (the long-time bachelor) has a new relationship that is driving these thoughts. But the interviews I’ve read don’t mention a thing about it, nor do the liner notes. Bummer.
The Lyrics
Here’s where I am more disappointed with amusing. It seems to be missing a song or two with the depth that his previous albums have included. Think back on Deep Enough to Dream (from the album Deep Enough to Dream), The Power of a Moment (from Past the Edges), Home Tonight (from Smell the Color 9), Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus), or Wonder (both from Run the Earth, Watch the Sky). They are songs full of picturesque, thoughtful lyrics, laden with symbolism and imagery. They are the depth that keeps me coming back to those albums again and again. Sadly, amusing doesn’t seem to include much of anything in that vein.
What it does contain in great measure is the more overt, and, to my mind, less-insightful lyrics that eventually drove me away from the music of Steven Curtis Chapman. For instance, the chorus of Love Like Crazy:
Love like crazy
We gotta love like crazy
We gotta love like crazy
The way he loves you and me
‘Cause if the world’s ever gonna change
We gotta love like crazy
This may be insightful and motivating for the high-school camp crowd, but it leaves me wanting more. Or this one:
Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I’m a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!
Sure, it’s OK…. but color me a bit disappointed.
This album will not really change my overall opinion of Chris Rice; he’s still one of my favorite songwriters, he’s still provided some of the most thoughtful and worshipful stuff that I’ve ever heard. I’m hoping that amusing is just one slightly low spot in the road that will quickly be forgotten when the next album comes around. It may, though, prompt me to skip the pre-ordering next time and wait to get a listen before making my purchase.
I pre-ordered Chris Rice’s new album, amusing, back a couple of months ago when it was advertised by eb+flo. This is Chris’s first album with his new record label, INO, so I was looking forward to hearing what the effort would sound like. The album doesn’t hit the stores until tomorrow (Tuesday August 23rd), but I received my copy in the mail last Friday. Having now had the chance to listen to it a couple times, I’ll hazard an opinion or two.
The Music
Musically, Chris makes the most of being on a new record label that has, apparently, given him much more musical freedom. The styles are varied; from the Steven Curtis Chapman-esque bluesy-country-rock of Love Like Crazy, to the made-for-adult-contemporary-radio sound of When Did You Fall, to the quiet piano-driven tones of Sleepyhead Sun, he explores many sounds that will a suprise to those familiar with his discography. I could complain that it isn’t very cohesive in sound, but that’s the case with most of Chris’s albums, so I won’t suddenly hold it against him now.
The Content
The subject matter of the songs is perhaps also typically varied; he includes a couple songs that deal with romantic love which lead me to wonder if he (the long-time bachelor) has a new relationship that is driving these thoughts. But the interviews I’ve read don’t mention a thing about it, nor do the liner notes. Bummer.
The Lyrics
Here’s where I am more disappointed with amusing. It seems to be missing a song or two with the depth that his previous albums have included. Think back on Deep Enough to Dream (from the album Deep Enough to Dream), The Power of a Moment (from Past the Edges), Home Tonight (from Smell the Color 9), Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus), or Wonder (both from Run the Earth, Watch the Sky). They are songs full of picturesque, thoughtful lyrics, laden with symbolism and imagery. They are the depth that keeps me coming back to those albums again and again. Sadly, amusing doesn’t seem to include much of anything in that vein.
What it does contain in great measure is the more overt, and, to my mind, less-insightful lyrics that eventually drove me away from the music of Steven Curtis Chapman. For instance, the chorus of Love Like Crazy:
Love like crazy
We gotta love like crazy
We gotta love like crazy
The way he loves you and me
‘Cause if the world’s ever gonna change
We gotta love like crazy
This may be insightful and motivating for the high-school camp crowd, but it leaves me wanting more. Or this one:
Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I’m a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!
Sure, it’s OK…. but color me a bit disappointed.
This album will not really change my overall opinion of Chris Rice; he’s still one of my favorite songwriters, he’s still provided some of the most thoughtful and worshipful stuff that I’ve ever heard. I’m hoping that amusing is just one slightly low spot in the road that will quickly be forgotten when the next album comes around. It may, though, prompt me to skip the pre-ordering next time and wait to get a listen before making my purchase.
I pre-ordered Chris Rice’s new album, amusing, back a couple of months ago when it was advertised by eb+flo. This is Chris’s first album with his new record label, INO, so I was looking forward to hearing what the effort would sound like. The album doesn’t hit the stores until tomorrow (Tuesday August 23rd), but I received my copy in the mail last Friday. Having now had the chance to listen to it a couple times, I’ll hazard an opinion or two.
The Music
Musically, Chris makes the most of being on a new record label that has, apparently, given him much more musical freedom. The styles are varied; from the Steven Curtis Chapman-esque bluesy-country-rock of Love Like Crazy, to the made-for-adult-contemporary-radio sound of When Did You Fall, to the quiet piano-driven tones of Sleepyhead Sun, he explores many sounds that will a suprise to those familiar with his discography. I could complain that it isn’t very cohesive in sound, but that’s the case with most of Chris’s albums, so I won’t suddenly hold it against him now.
The Content
The subject matter of the songs is perhaps also typically varied; he includes a couple songs that deal with romantic love which lead me to wonder if he (the long-time bachelor) has a new relationship that is driving these thoughts. But the interviews I’ve read don’t mention a thing about it, nor do the liner notes. Bummer.
The Lyrics
Here’s where I am more disappointed with amusing. It seems to be missing a song or two with the depth that his previous albums have included. Think back on Deep Enough to Dream (from the album Deep Enough to Dream), The Power of a Moment (from Past the Edges), Home Tonight (from Smell the Color 9), Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus), or Wonder (both from Run the Earth, Watch the Sky). They are songs full of picturesque, thoughtful lyrics, laden with symbolism and imagery. They are the depth that keeps me coming back to those albums again and again. Sadly, amusing doesn’t seem to include much of anything in that vein.
What it does contain in great measure is the more overt, and, to my mind, less-insightful lyrics that eventually drove me away from the music of Steven Curtis Chapman. For instance, the chorus of Love Like Crazy:
Love like crazy
We gotta love like crazy
We gotta love like crazy
The way he loves you and me
‘Cause if the world’s ever gonna change
We gotta love like crazy
This may be insightful and motivating for the high-school camp crowd, but it leaves me wanting more. Or this one:
Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I’m a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!
Sure, it’s OK…. but color me a bit disappointed.
This album will not really change my overall opinion of Chris Rice; he’s still one of my favorite songwriters, he’s still provided some of the most thoughtful and worshipful stuff that I’ve ever heard. I’m hoping that amusing is just one slightly low spot in the road that will quickly be forgotten when the next album comes around. It may, though, prompt me to skip the pre-ordering next time and wait to get a listen before making my purchase.
OK, I’ll admit it: I have a CD-buying habit. It’s not as destructive or expensive as many other habits I could have, but it still drives me to purchase more music, new music all the time.
My last new CD came in the mail on Friday – I had pre-ordered Chris Rice’s new CD, amused, back a couple of months ago. I’m not sure how well I like it yet; I’ll have to listen some more. Chris Rice has been on my automatically-buy list pretty much ever since his first album, and I haven’t been disappointed yet. Hopefully the streak continues. Before that, I got Andy Osenga’s Souvenirs & Postcards, and then just before that Randall Goodgame’s War and Peace. I guess you could say I’m just doing catch-up as I find these new artists that I like so much.
Since I have to hold back a bit, I’ll at least post my list here so I can add to it from time to time, or note when I have purchased another one. If any of you reading this feel the desire to get one for me, go ahead. 
They are listed in a basic priority order… which is always subject to change.
The Normals
I don’t own any of their albums yet, but I should get all of them:
A Place Where You BelongComing To Life
They are available, all 3 for $24 at http://www.creativesitesmedia.com/normals/merch.shtml.
I will admit to being torn between getting them for that good price or supporting Andy O directly by buying them from his site at a slightly higher price.
Randall Goodgame
Available for purchase at http://www.uthstuph.com/ws/randallgoodgame/. I appreciate his War and Peace more every time I hear it… I need to catch up on his other stuff.
Sufjan Stevens
I wrote about this one before. I still haven’t purchased it. Available at Amazon.
Sandra McCracken
Gypsy Flat Road
I have only one of Sandra’s albums right now: Best Laid Plans. I’d sure like to add the other two.
Other things floating around at the bottom of the list: Ryan Adams’ Cold Roses, and maybe Nickel Creek’s Why Should the Fire Die?.
I guess that’s it for now. I imagine I’ll be adding to this list before I subtract from it too much.
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Update on 9/26/05:
I got The Normals’ Coming to Life and Sandra McCracken’s Gypsy Flat Road at a used CD sale last weekend.
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Update on 10/06/06:
I got The Normals’ A Place Where You Belong and Ryan Adams’ Cold Roses yesterday.
Yes, it’s been over two weeks now since I first took my dead PDA in to get it replaced. If their estimates hold up, sometime around Labor Day I should be receiving my gift card so I can purchase a replacement.
Arrrrrrrgh.
No events to report today.
It is starting to drive me crazy not having my PDA. I didn’t realize how much I rely on it for calendar and note-taking (not to mention game-playing) until I’ve been without it for the better part of two weeks. If I had any other big purchases planned, I’d just go buy one from somewhere today and then use the OfficeMax gift card later for that purchase… but I don’t know what it might be.
There have been a ton of reviews of Sufjan Stevens’ new album, Illinois, floating around lately. I hadn’t heard any of his music, and after having one friend say “eh… not getting into it that much”, I had pretty much decided that it was going to go on my ignore list. But then three nights in a row, listening to my local NPR station whilst driving my car, I heard some rather interesting tunes… which, when the announcer came back to credit them, were all from the aforementioned Mr. Stevens album.
My interest thus piqued, I did a little internet research and found that Amazon has two free tracks you can download. Then I found this post on Richard’s blog which pointed me towards several more downloads. I’ve downloaded 6 tracks so far (which is only about 25% of the album…) and I’m really impressed. The song names are goofy (“The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You’re Going To Have To Leave Now, Or, ‘I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!’” is just one example), the subject matter is at times bizzare (“John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”), but the end result is captivating. The layered instrumentation, the quirky rhythms (the first track is in a neat 5/4 time), Sufjan’s mellow vocals, they all serve to create a total package that’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before… but engrossing at the same time.
I think I’m going to have to go out and buy this album. I looked for it at BestBuy the other night and it was nowhere to be found. Maybe Barnes & Noble will have it; it’s on sale on their website, maybe it’ll be on sale in the store, too. I have a car trip planned to Wisconsin for this weekend; it would be fun to add Illinois to the journey.
Nothing to report today. Trusting our favorite USPS to deliver my package quickly.