ziahassan.com

Music doesn’t sound right.  Can’t put my finger exactly on what it is, but it’s there, like one weird ingredient in an otherwise outstanding soufle.

Getting those awesome recordings of live shows in the mail was really fun back in the day.  That one summer where I didn’t have a job and just sat around burning CDs and licking envelopes - I will long for a 3 month stretch like that forever.  With this looming recession though, I may be unemployed soon - giving me lots of time to trade CDs.  It’s too bad that no one actually uses CDs anymore and most shows are downloaded these days.  I enjoyed the personal side of it.

Three things arriving by mail this  week:

1)  A new turntable, 25% off the store price.  I bid well on eBay for once.  It’s small and can be used for summer deck sessions.  It’s a good thing that records still exist and that some bands still make them an available media type for their albums.  It’s also a good thing that tapes are non existent.

2)  Cajon.  This arrived yesterday and is by far one of the coolest instruments I’ve ever touched.  If you thump the center of it with the heel of your palm, it makes a very real kick sound.  Hitting the top corners  with your hands gives it a snare (real snare wires in the back), and if you hit the foot pedal you get a nice tom sound out of the faceplate.

3)  Tape Op (book).  About creative home recording.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get something out of this.

Nick and I hung out and he introduced me to an artist named Mario Spinetti (myspace.com/mariospinetti).  This guy has a gorgeous, shimmery voice that sounds beautiful when quiet or loud.  His songs are well written, well recorded, and he has an a cappella track called Delirious which drives me crazy.  You can listen to his whole EP on the myspace site and buy it for $6.  It’s important to support this artist so we can see more come from him. He might be the future of melody.

Spent some time writing and setting up a soundscape - the drum samples I’m using now are from a real drum kit, so it sounds eerily genuine.  Nick wants a song about how lucky we are, and my idea is to play with the idea of chance and chain effects.

Watched Six Feet Under series finale again with Liza.  May be the best final 10 minutes of any show ever.  The kind of finale that is so final and so provoking that you can’t help but let it resonate through you the rest of the week.

The new bathroom is done, and the shower is hot, finally.  My sinus pains (weird eye dull throbbing) moved down to a cough, and now is moving into a full blown cold.  Nothing I want to do more than get into bed and sleep it out.  I don’t think I’ve had a sick day since High School, and even then I went to school.  It felt so important, and I remember thinking I’d be way behind if I didn’t go.

Still no word on the clearance.  It’s been approximately 4.5 months since I submitted my package, and 2 months since my personal interview, and colleague interview.  This is more than within the normal time frame for these investigations, but it’s getting frustrating.  So much to learn and no access to the tools from which to learn.

We got a new bathroom.  I’ll update with more pictures later, but here is what I have for now.

The tub                                                                       From the door

Only complaint so far is that the water in the shower is not that hot.   Oh, and the sink isn’t in yet.

Beautiful start to the week - it’s funny, I woke up feeling happy for no reason, only to walk outside and find spring/summer like weather.  It started on Sunday, and Liza and I explored Rosslyn a bit to find a record store and shoe store right next to each other - appropriate for us, since that’s our two vices, respectively.  Anyway, I let loose in the record store for a while.  I bought:

• Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (It’s almost funny to imagine Peter gabriel saying he wanted even more freedom to be creative)
• Roger Eno - Voices (Even though Ashlee and Aaron could never live up to Jessica and Nick, I have a feeling that this brother is worth checking out.  Plus, Brian did some treatments)
• Carlos Jobim - I really wanted to buy something from Joao Gilberto because Liza’s dad played me some amazing live stuff - but I couldn’t find his records.  Had to settle for the other Ipoenema guy.
• Some XTC record I’d never heard of

Last night, the weather was incredible - so Billy brought his friend Joy and Colleen also joined us on the deck.  Reminded of summer:  short nights, even though we all want them to be longer.

Recently saw Ari Hest open for Vaco, all I could think about was how nothing about his songs/performance had changed in 4 years.  Fortunately, he mentioned that he was going to write/record/release a song per week in 2008.  If you pay $20, you get the whole 52 at arihest.com.  I was debating signing up - it’s a fantastic idea, and one that has been pondered by a few musicians (at least, the idea of releasing bits rather than a cohesive album), but eventually my curiosity gave in and I heard the first piece, One Two, and was quite impressed.  This is exactly what he needed.  $20 later, I’m sure I’ll get to hear tons of awesome material from him this year.

Mm, good weather.

One reason to dislike winter, besides the wind and low temperatures, is the inability to use your hands for anything useful when you have gloves on.  I have difficulty taking out my wallet, changing the song on my iPod, and finding my keys in my pocket.  My huge coat also makes it harder for me to move around freely.

Summer weather is better, just for the convenience.  New Year’s was exciting - back at my house for the first time in a while, smaller group this time. Feels as if 2004 was only a few days back.

There’s a homeless guy on my walk home everyday, and I always have spare change but I’m too cold and don’t want to deal with my gloves.

UPDATE: Forgot a pretty essential album from ‘07 and have decided to make this list a top 11 instead of 10. So there.

These aren’t based on anything other than my personal enjoyment… so even if I really liked something that was loved by many, it won’t rank any higher because of that. I didn’t get too caught up in the order - I liked them all in different ways, but my #1 was definitely a stand-out.

11. Aqualung - Memory Man

Let’s face it, the guy can write amazing songs and come up with some kickass arrangements/mixes. There were weeks where I couldn’t go without listening to “Pressure Suit” at least twice a day. I’d say almost every song on this record is good. “Glimmer” is also another stand-out.

Recommended if you like awesome falsetto-y vocals, catchy tunes, acoustic guitar, and cool synth noises.

10. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

I heard the song “Is there a Ghost” all over KCRW and XM radio. It’s such a great song, lyrically, musically, and sonically. The rest of the disc follows suit. I’m normally not that into the whole doubling up on the vocal but this guy can really do it effectively. The single “No one’s gonna love you” is also great.

Recommended if you like chorus-y vocals a la The Shins, with great electric guitar lines and a soundscape to match the coverart.

9. The Softlightes -Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! to being happy!

Wow, what an awesome name for an album of solid power pop. The Soft Lightes used to be known as The Incredible Moses Leroy (I think I preferred that name, but anyway). The band plays and writes music with that very philosophy: forget about trying to be something and just be yourself. It’s fun and bouncy pop, lots of cool synths, electronics, vocoders, and just fantastic lyrical ideas.

I really have no one to compare this band to. It’s not that they’re that unique. It’s just that I I feel like I’m lying when I compare them to anyone else. It’s just really clever and cute.

8. Sara Bareilles - Little Voice

Absolutely no shame in admitting that there are some fucking solid albums in the mainstream. There is something so shockingly good about this album. Maybe it’s her voice, which is big enough for broadway, but small enough for an intimate setting. The single and first track “Love Song” is the type of song that was destined for radio, and has you singing along at the top of your lungs, and then she socks you with gem after gem for the remainder. I couldn’t really explain what sets her apart from the other piano-pop-female-vocalists, but there it is. “One Sweet Love” and “Between the Lines” are also insanely good. But again, all the songs are.

Recommended if you like Sarah McLachlan or any other female-vocal-piano type of person.

7. Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side of the Sea

I don’t know who this guy is and where he came from, but here’s another one to check out. The lyrics are dripping with imagery, and the arrangements are fantastic. After hearing “Her Morning Elegance” and “The Man Who Isn’t There” on KCRW, I paid $30 to get this record delivered to me from the UK. I’m not suggesting you do the same; it’s available in the US now. I started listening to this in the winter and it took me through to the spring. Amazing transition album.

Recommended if you like: Duncan Sheik, David Sylvian, etc.

6. Radiohead - In Rainbows

This one made all kinds of waves with its “pay whatever you want” revenue system. Released on the internet for free in DRM-free MP3 format, Radiohead opened some eyes and made a lot of people realize that the future of music distribution is going to change dramatically in the next few years.

But beyond all that, this is a great album by itself. I think this is probably the first of their albums where I didn’t immediately think that it sounded dramatically different than their previous one. Admittedly, Thom Yorke has a few tricks that he uses over and over, but they’re incredible tricks and nobody gives a shit. Also, the bass lines on this album are A-OK.

5. Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light

I’m a sucker for anything remotely catchy and I’m also a huge fan of Jimmy Eat World. Bleed American was one of my favorite albums ever, and Futures made me think that they were on a slippy slope. But here they are with Chase This Light. I think there’s one song in the middle I’m not particularly fond of, but I know the rest of the album by heart.

4. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

I listened to this when it came out and I thought it was alright. Came back to it very recently and found it to be completely different than I remember it. Amazingly, Wilco steps it up, album after album. I remember reading a quote from Dave Matthews once about Radiohead, saying that when he buys a Radiohead album he thinks “Okay, this will finally be the one that sucks” and of course it never does. That’s how I feel about Wilco. I also feel that Wilco albums do take a while to set in.

3. Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau - Quartet

When they released their first disc together, I was on the edge of my seat. One of my favorite guitarists and a new and innovative talent in the piano world joining forces - exciting stuff. And then it sucked. It was boring, lifeless, etc.

Luckily, they released this and all was made right. This one actually feels like a collaboration of two great artists, rather than a bunch of mediocre compositions. Plus, anytime Metheny whips out the 42-string guitar, I’m game. I think the addition of the PM trio also helped a little.

2. Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers

Whoops, almost forgot this one. Laura Veirs is one of the most creative songwriters around right now. She’s also into astronomy, and that’s awesome. Year of Meteors from a couple years ago is a great record too. She had a YouTube video contest for her fans to make a suitable video for “Don’t Lose Yourself.”

Happy New Year, Laura.

Album of the Year: Christian Fennesz & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Cendre

I’m a huge fan of stuff that is atmospheric, and is as much about the music as it is about the sound. This album is hard to explain in words, but I’d say the coverart does a pretty good job. You’ve basically got Ryuichi Sakamoto sketching his gorgeous piano sky, and Fennesz coloring it with red-purple ink. The result is a lot of layers of noise underneath lush piano compositions (and sometimes vice-versa).

Recommended if you like Brian Eno, Harold Budd, piano, and far away noises.