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Friends, it has been a while in the blogosphere. Apparently, since January.

Anyways, in the real world, in a few weeks time, it's time to be happy for Mr. Klein, and subsequently, Mr. Yates. But beforehand, let's all get ourselves good and teary eyed. You know love hurts...

Hopefully not anymore, but this cover is amazing, and will freely post it on any blog I'm associated with.

Discuss.

In honor of the annual (and decadal) practice of list making, NPR has released a list of the 'most important records' of the last decade. Some obvious, as well as interesting, choices appear. Thoughts?

I will try to compose a longer post with particular comments on the selections. But right now, I have a calculation to do. The world must know if this theory applies to the solar wind.

Have a good one-

Kris

Christmas Music

Just know that you are all in for a treat next week when i break out the bob dylan christmas album... maybe we can bookend it with messiah and the Bing album?

See you all soon. Yates out.

A reason to go to conferences-

Hello All-

Just got back from an action packed week long national physics conference in Chicago. You may be saying, thats wonderful Kris, but that has little to do with music. You would be right, except for the fact that I convinced a handful of friends and acquaintances to attend the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for an exciting Thursday night performance. A nice concert, full of Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. As we are cheap students, we got seats in the top tier of balconies. The view was fantastic and the sound was incredible. Because the slant of the stadium seating was so severe, it felt like we could lean directly above the orchestra. I would suggest trying the nosebleed section, at least in this particular hall.

The music was good( Benjamin would be happy because no one stood during the applause). The first half was a Mozart 'symphony', number 23 followed by the Beethoven's 2nd Piano Concerto. They for some inexplicable reason miked the piano and then neglected to set up the sound system correctly, leading to audible squeaks at frequent intervals. (The soloist was Jonathan Bliss who the program informed me has a blog. Which he updates less frequently than we do around here). The second half of the program was Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony. It was very well executed and enjoyable.

Hope everyone is surviving the end of the semester-

-Kris

Ping

Hey guys, I just started using this "Ping" thing in iTunes. I think the blog is a better venue to post substantive reviews, music videos, etc. But for just sharing some of the stuff we're listening to on a day to day basis, I think it might be a cool way to do so.

Therefore, I will inundate your inboxes with spam, telling you to sign up. You can thank me in December.

The Band of Joy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhaPuRrAvjU

I just got the latest Band of Joy album featuring Robert Plant on vocals. Robert Plant is a favorite of mine- you can't argue with led zep, not to mention the Plant/Krauss album from a couple years ago is absolutely astounding. I first heard the first track from this album on an independent ratio station while driving across Ohio a few weeks ago. I really liked the sound, so I bought the album... 3 weeks later I'm listening to it all the time. Its got a sound that I really enjoy- there is straight up rock, blues, and even some old time country feel in there. Its a hard line up to have a problem with on the album:

Patty Griffen, Buddy Miller, Darrell Scott, Byron House, and Marco Giovino. We have all heard these band members perform live or on albums with various soloists and bands (including Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, and even with The Band).

The Band of Joy started in the 60's before Plant joined up with zep. There have been a number of lineups, and this album is the second album the band has put out. Some tracks from the band are also on SixtySix to Timbucktwo- if you have raided my library you probably gave it a listen and didn't think much of it- thats why I've been astounded by this album- really great stuff.

At any rate, I enjoy it and look forward to listening to it on a car trip up to the cities with you all in the near future!

cheers, Benjamin

Mumford and Sons Video

I just got this album from Mumford and Sons. It's gotten a ton of airplay up here, and although I haven't listened to the whole thing through quite yet, I'm really digging it so far. This song, in particular, is one I've enjoyed a lot. Aside from the music, I like the concept of playing in a bookshop.

In any event, I think this also speaks to the folk/acoustic kick I've been on for a month or so. What I like about this group, is the juxtaposition of the heartfelt lyrics with the harshness of the lead singer's voice. I don't know, I think it makes the music speak a little bit more.