Continue reading »]]> You know, all things considered I didn’t really get into collecting CDs and forming my music tastes as they are today until a few years ago. I mean, growing up I relied more on what I listened to on the Adult Contemporary station which doesn’t exactly aim for the young age bracket. Combined with my parents’ music tastes I became fairly acquainted with a fair amount of oldies. Good question: do you know any songs by Engelbert Humperdink? I do. Heh. Not sure what happened, but the first CD that I ever purchased was Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill. It was getting good press, and I was familiar with Alanis and her work on You Can’t Do That on Television. Ooh, that was odd. I loved the CD, but it just didn’t feel right. What do I mean? Well, buying CDs is something “Jason” wouldn’t do.

I think my CD buying from that point was kept to a minimum. That’s not even a result of the whole Napster thing that happened early in the decade. I just didn’t have much interest in much. Now, sometime in what must have been 2002/2003, I saw the video for Bring Me to Life by Evanescence on TV. I think I was half napping when I was suddenly jolted by what felt like a mythical siren calling out to me. The video hooked me. I remember specifically going out to buy that CD. I played the heck out of that one as well. From that point forward, I was more likely to explore and buy CDs just to see what that music is like. It’s not entirely cost effective, I guess, but it helped me to define my tastes through trial and error. It’s probably why my collection is kind of eclectic.

Almost all of my CDs are ripped and on my computer for easy access. Why don’t I buy more CDs digitally? Frankly I just like having something physical. It’s probably anachronistic, but I just like things better that way. I might buy singles off iTunes for example, but if I like it enough I’m likely to get the full album. I’ll also lean on buying digitally if the stores overprice something. I like physical CDs but I’m no fool, you know?

Continue reading »]]> Based on CDs that I already have in my collection, sometimes I’ll follow an artist and pick up their next albums whenever they come out. For the band Gorillaz, I already had Demon Days and their self-titled first album. When I heard their new album was out I was kind of on the fence on whether to pick it up, but the reviews were pretty good. I found the video for the first single Stylo and enjoyed it immensely. I mean, Bruce Freakin’ Willis makes a cameo in the video. Crazy! So in the end I purchased the album Plastic Beach. I really enjoy the album.

I eventually came across the video of Gorillaz performing Stylo on Jools Holland and was surprised to see a full-on band there. Damon Albarn wasn’t hiding behind the animated characters of the “band.” The humanizing factor made it all that much more awesome. It was then that I decided that I wanted to see Gorillaz in concert. Over my Twitter feed I saw that a music executive guy posted a pre-sale password for the concert at the Air Canada Centre. I conferred with a friend who was also interested in going. And within minutes we had tickets.

The concert happened last night. Yes, it was absolutely brilliant. On stage there was a big lit sign with the band’s name. Above that was a screen that played clips of the animated virtual band to go along with all of the music. That’s all well and good, but seriously all of the people on stage were the real focus of the show. There were so many musicians on there–each integral to the show. Guest vocalists came and went. It all could have been chaotic, but it was all a well-oiled machine. There were probably around 25+ people up there. Everything was just very joyous and energetic. I didn’t sit down at all. All in all, this was simply one awesome concert. Totally worth the splurge.

Continue reading »]]> Two videos. First one is a video of Robyn covering Hyperballad off of Björk’s album Post. Pretty cool build up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xPCxxxvqSw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xPCxxxvqSw

Just found this one as well. Seems to be from the same awards ceremony. Ane Brun covering Jóga off of Björk’s album Homogenic. Ane has a haunting voice. Paired with the strings, this is an awesome cover.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC4RTMsb8bA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC4RTMsb8bA