Traction

Nice title for Angel of Rock's latest post: 'So Much Music, So Little Time.' Many music lovers despair of 'keeping up.' But what does that mean?

For some, it's tracking what's popular, which provides conversational currency with au courant offspring or at social gatherings, but doesn't offer much in actual listening pleasure. For others, it's getting a handle on what's out there in the music atmosphere, which is deep, seemingly endless, and daunting.

To me, there is no 'keeping up.' There is only pushing forward. Rewards abound for the intrepid explorer, now more than ever. Consider this timeline:

Monday: Read review of Low Anthem's 'Oh My God, Charlie Darwin'.
Tuesday: Streamed album on Rhapsody. Liked it.
Wednesday: Purchased album. Loved it.
Thursday: Initiated viral publicity process (or VPP):

　
This versatile trio offers a variety of rustic atmospherics that should appeal to followers of Ray LaMontagne, Fleet Foxes, or, at times, Tom Waits. Oh, and the review that started this? Saw it in the New York Times. Yep, analog media that will only be pried from my cold, dead, ink-stained hands.

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Another bit I particularly liked in Angel's post was her excitement over discovering PJ Harvey. As one who has a framed photo of Polly Jean hanging on the wall to his left, I surely understand. But it's also just plain fun to happen upon and explore any artist with a long and diverse CV.

My most recent such experience was with Porcupine Tree. If, under duress, I were forced to hang a two-syllable summary on 'em I'd croak out 'Prog-lite' and hate myself for it because their sound runs sweet / bitter, digestible / complex gamuts and oops, you probably already know this. Yep. Latecomer.

Anyway, I came to Porcupine Tree via No-Man, as the two bands share the same guitarist, the multi-talented Steven Wilson. No-Man's sound often features a wistful reflectiveness, and I'm a sucker for it:

　
So. A years-long interest in No-Man led to Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson. The point is clear: the more you hear, the more you want to hear.

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Not yet finished with 'Ripped,' but I love this quote from a modern-day music consumer: "...we're in a day when nobody buys music unless they hear it first. Because we don't trust anyone, really."

Perhaps the week's most exciting new release is Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara's 'Tell No Lies.' The one track I've heard is a Saharan blues with a Bo Diddley beat. I'm in. Cheers!