The Lonesome Crowded Midwest

Unfreeze the Atlantic, Bring us more Aberdeen City!

2009-12-12T02:09:00.003-06:00

Hello everybody. I was hunting around on the internet for a somewhat rare (turns out, not that rare) EP by an amazing band called Aberdeen City. The album is still rare, at least in CD form. For only $8 at CDBaby.com, you can download the 7 blissful tracks of the EP "We Learned By Watching." It was recorded in 2003. Aberdeen City followed that up with "The Frozen Atlantic," released in 2005. In early 2008 they said they were going back into the studio. Err, or they were already in the studio. That's not the point. The point is that it's almost 2010 and there is NO NEWS of a new ablum. This is a sad fact.

(Revision: There was a little news. They took a break to play songs with Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls)

Need a little audio reassurance? Just go listen to the sample tracks on CDBaby.com, or look them up. They have free mp3s at their website, as well as a MySpace page. Who doesn't have a MySpace page these days? Oh yeah, Jared and the former rock group Holstein. Are they too cool for it? Nope. Just tired of it. For now.

Aberdeen City has the perfect mix. Meaningful lyrics, wonderful melodies, and even a couple songs you can shake your ass to. A lot of catchy-yet-reflective songs that make you want to move. What's better than shaking your ass to a song that actually means something other than getting crunk and having sex with loose women? Nothing, that's what.

Examples? Okay. Purchase/download these tracks:

Another Seven Years
Pretty Pet
God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me
Sixty Lives
Stay Still
The Protagonist
Empty Roof
Naysayer
Final Bout
Popular Music
In The Shadows
In Somebody's House

I know what you're thinking:

"Jared, did you just end that list with all seven songs from "We Learned By Watching?"

Yes, I did. Deal with it. Trust me, you'll want to. It's only $8 people. $8.

In other news, I am officially the guitar player (not drummer anymore) for The Nautical West. We have a website up now. Click here to visit. There's not a whole lot going on there right now, but trust me, there will be. Soon.

As for one last bit of news. Before Holstein collapsed in on itself, we had an EP's worth of material on the brink of being finished. (Translation: I wrote five songs for Holstein's new record before I terminated the band's existance) What does this mean? I'm going to finish them and record them. There is no real time table on this. They're just good songs in my opinion and do not deserve to fall by the wayside. They will more than likely be released under a different band name, which I will make anyone reading this aware of when the time comes.

This is all I have got for now. I'll talk to you all later.

A pleasent surprise on an awful day...

2009-10-06T00:13:00.006-05:00

You'll probably only take my music reviews/opinions (more like opinions) seriously if you're late to buy albums, like I am. Today I purchased 3 CDs. One I rebought because I gave my old copy to my friend Ian so he'd listen to it (which was Pedro The Lion's "Control") and the other two are the new-ish Wilco album and the brand new Built To Spill album.

The Built To Spill album was good, but not as memorable as Wilco's latest. While both albums are very good, the latest effort from Wilco stands out more because their previous album, "Sky Blue Sky" was mediocre in my opinion. Sure, it had some great tunes (such as "Impossible Germany" and "On and On and On") which are standouts, but as an album in general, it failed to keep my interest after the first listen or two. By track 6 on "Wilco (The Album)" I knew this album was going to be heavily on my mind for the next few months. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to it right now. It's great that I am picking up such great albums all at once. This album is just as good as my experience with the new Good Fear album (see the previous post for lack of details).

That leads me to the next thing I wanted to talk about. For a while there when I was knee deep in Holstein, I kind of lost time to sit down and listen to music. For the past couple of weeks I have been playing cards and listening to music. As well as buying new music. Sometimes you lose track of what's really important. Quiet nights with friends or by yourself. Perhaps a few beers, cigarettes (if you smoke (which I don't)), cards or video games on mute with music on. Hell, even just sitting around not doing anything but listen to music is wonderful. It's the only reason I picked up an instrument. Unfortunately, simple things have a way of complicating themselves. One just has to realize when they get lost and start finding home before they fall completely out of touch. I feel at home now. I feel good, mentally at least. There still is a serious problem going on with one of my organs that hasn't been diagnosed yet, which is why I am at home. No matter how down or sick you feel, you've gotta leave the couch/bed a few times.

Perhaps all of this great new music coupled with a reborn dedicated listening mindset will trigger new inspiration to write...

Like I said earlier, my rave on Wilco does not take away from Built To Spill's latest effort, "There Is No Enemy." It is a great album, and the band is very consistent in the way they write music without becoming redundant. If I am at a gathering and someone puts Built To Spill on, no matter the album/year, I don't worry whether or not it will be good.

That's all I've got for now. I really must get back to laying on the couch in pain. It's a lot better than sitting up in a chair in pain. Until next time...

The (Damn) Good Fear...

2009-10-05T00:33:00.005-05:00

Hey there. This album is really awesome. If you have money, you should head over to Max Recordings and pick it up. I waited too long to, therefore I am just now writing about how awesome this album is. That's what happens when you have $10 to spare. I am on tack 15/22 and I have yet to hear a bad song. Or even an okay song. Every song is wonderful. The Good Fear is a folk band with a hint of indie, but I would not call them and indie folk band, because that term is stupid. They are close by, in Fayetteville, AR. Check them out. Until next time...

PS - The album above is called "Dirty Lowdown Adventure." It's their latest. Also check out "Keep in Touch," their first full length.

Oh, Dexter...

2009-10-02T04:45:00.000-05:00

You know, I love the TV show Dexter as much as the next person. However, when I watch it, it can make me feel paranoid. I haven't done anything wrong, especially on that level, but when I get at least two episodes deep, I forget it's a show. Kind of creepy. Especially before bed...

Tired before one in the morning...

2009-10-01T00:53:00.002-05:00

Still no mp3s of the recordings. Today was a rough day. I'm tired of doctor offices. I feel like I've been in hospitals non-stop for the past two years. It's a little strange. I guess they're necessary at times, and I am thankful that we have an abundance of hospitals and doctors in our country. It could always be worse, which is a simple thought I think a lot of people are beginning to forget.

Consumed by laziness...

2009-09-30T01:28:00.002-05:00

So, I have the Holstein live recordings. I have had them for a few weeks now. These were taken from our last show with Chris and Ben. I do have every intention of posting them exclusively at holsteinmusic.com, but I just cannot bring myself to do it at the moment. As it turns out, a lot has been going on. There's a lump near my stomach trying to sabotage my life. It is succeeding too, so good for it. Lots of trips to the doctor's office (and one to the hospital), so I guess it's safe to say it's winning. That combined with writer's block and the inability to get ahold of anyone in Holstein (besides Eric) leaves me pretty stranded at the moment as far as writing songs and getting on stage to perform them.

However, on a more positive note, it does give me more time to be listening to music as well as fulfill my Nautical West duties. We're cranking out songs like it's going out of style. Good ones, too. I'm excited to start playing out as a drummer. I am very confident I can drum with the best of 'em at this point. In the time we've been playing, I picked up where I left off with GARY and then some. Like, a lot of some. A giant truckload of some. I'm no Dave Grohl, but I can safely consider myself an official drummer rather than a guitar player filling in on the drums.

Also, I am saving to build myself the mecca of all desktop computers. It will serve as my computer/studio. I'm also going to be getting my own server up and running.

Back to Holstein. I shouldn't be so worried about it. Holstein has always been about coming together naturally. When the time is right, and the right people are introduced, Holstein will burn bright again. That's usually how it goes. I wouldn't trade it for the world though.

So basically, live recordings are coming soon-ish, and I have been extremely busy getting by. I will be writing more in a few days. Until next time...

Goddamn you, Facebook!

2009-09-25T02:14:00.000-05:00

I hate Facebook. This began officially around 5 or 7 minutes ago. I was adding a movie to the list of movies I enjoy and it kept coming up in the auto-complete list. This would have been fine except my Facebook is in all lowercase. After I pressed save, it kept it's dumbass one with the capital letters. I tried it again. Same result. The outcome of this delima was the fact that I deleted the entire category in which I was editing and deciding I don't really give a shit if my friends know what movies I like to watch. If they're my friends, or if they're curious strangers, they'd probably just ask or already know.

So fuck you Facebook. You are a bastard. Perhaps in a few years we can live our lives without even seeing an actual person. I hate how everything gets done on the internet these days. Bands can get signed without even playing a show, let alone going on a single tour. It's shameful. Truly shameful.

In other news...

Perhaps this chain of events will slap me in the face with some inspiration to write again for Holstein. Nothing has really caught my attention with the proper firmness and screamed "EXPLOIT ME!" so the songwriting has been lacking lately. The clouds are coming. Then the storm.

In the meantime, The Nautical West has been going great. We just wrote a wonderfully addicting song to play and listen to. At least that's what it is to me. It's a fun time.

Tonight, I hate my XBOX... (Encore!)

2009-09-22T04:00:00.002-05:00

No, you know what? I'm not quite finished. Fuck that game. Because of that game, my blood was flowing. It was an edge-of-your-seat affair. Very important. I was going to celebrate my win by petting my cat and passing out. But no, now I'm all shaky and wide awake with rage and no release. The big ass super win was supposed to be my release, so I could come down and go to bed. Now I'm wide awake. This game has officially messed up my sleeping situation.

I was tired. I had plans to sleep. Damnit. Now I'm going to stay awake and watch shitty overnight / early morning television while I could be passed out dreaming about things that would never happen and/or be impossible in real life.

Which brings me to my next topic. Morning shows are just as bad as overnight paid programming, if not worse. To hell with all of these people who disagree. They remind me of out-dated training videos for shitty jobs. Cheese everywhere. Politically correct everything. Gross. The Weather Channel used to be my escape back when I slept at night and got up in the morning. Why? Because if you were in a room without a clock or windows and turned on the Weather Channel, you still wouldn't know what time it was. They used to do the same shit around the clock. Local weather, nation, local weather, nation. Then they take about seven seconds out of their rotation to tell you the temperatures in Europe. After that, back to local weather. Now there's Al Mother Fucking Roaker. "Wake Up with Al!" Why Al Roker? One time I stayed up all morning to watch this shitfest on TV. HE DOESN'T EVEN DO ANY METEOROLOGY! He just giggles, flirts with celebrities and has two other ladies do the weather. Last time I checked, the only reason people actually watch the Weather Channel is to know what the hell is going on outside. So why not just ditch Al Roker and have the two ladies on the program that actually do the work run it? Since I am never up in the morning hours, I don't let this bother me. The Weather Channel is still one of my favorite channels of all time. I only watch about three or four channels anymore.

Thanks for reading. This might be one of the first posts on here since my return to bear any real human emotion. I feel a little better now after taking out my frustrations on an inanimate object and an innocent meteorologist. ;)

Until next time...

Tonight, I hate my XBOX...

2009-09-22T03:51:00.004-05:00

So, this is stupid. I was playing an important football game and it was very close. With twenty seconds to go in the game, the opposing team pulled ahead by one point. However, when I got the ball back (with no timeouts), I chucked a 50+ yard pass to put me in field goal range. Perfect. Jared wins the coolest game ever, right? Wrong. I pressed the X button (as the game told me to) to spike the ball so I could setup for the field goal since I had no timeouts left. Triumph! I can feel my heart beating out of my chest. However, instead of spiking the ball (like the game indicated I would), we ran a mother fucking running play, which a) went nowhere and b) ran out the clock. The game lied, and because the game lied, the other team won. Shit.

It's been decided...

2009-09-17T00:12:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we finally came up with a band name we could all agree on. So without anymore waiting, the band I play drums is in called The Nautical West. Good stuff, I think. Other than that, things are generally quiet along the midwestern front. It was a decent weekend. Until next time...

The afternoon after...

2009-09-10T13:06:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. I know it's the same day as when I revived this, but I've slept since then. My work schedule keeps my hours odd, which is alright with me. At least on most days. Today marks my Monday. Work begins in about 90 minutes and will not let up until 1am. I like my job but I, like most people I know, don't really want to go to work. It's all about getting there and realizing, "Hey, this isn't so bad. I guess." Then it's fine. Until that moment, however, it feels like a task. Especially on my Monday, which is really Thursday. This usually means everyone is winding down their week as I'm trying to start mine. It's almost like trying to swim against the current in a stream or river. It's really not as bad as I feel like I am making it seem, just something for me to think about as I wait for work to begin. Next post I'll make things more interesting. Until then...

Is this thing on?

2009-09-10T02:30:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. It's been an extremely long time, but I have decided to revive this little gem of the early part of the decade. I recently deleted my accounts on MySpace, because really, who honestly cares about what goes on in the realm of MySpace? I do not. I guess you could counter with the question, "Who honestly cares about what goes on in the lonesome crowded midwest?" Probably nobody, but at least it's not MySpace.

I used to use this blog for the purpose of posting and writing about music I liked and/or made. I will still more than likely talk about both, but not in the same manner. I play music in two bands. I will probably write about the two bands quite frequently. I will also write about what is moving me at the moment, whether it be music, a book, or something else I think is great. I'll also write about growing older here in the lovely confines of the midwest. Boring stuff. I look forward to reviving my dusty little corner of the internet. If you decide to read this, then I guess we'll see what happens.