N

You have arrived at the web home of Noah Brier. This is mostly an archive of over a decade of blogging and other writing. You can read more about me or get in touch. If you want more recent writing of mine, most of that is at my BrXnd marketing x AI newsletter and Why Is This Interesting?, a daily email for the intellectually omnivorous.

August, 2004

6 Albums I Listened to in July

Since I really haven't posted much in the way of music, I've decided to post some albums that got me through July: A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder: It's the songwriter from The New Pornographers doing his own thing. Much more acoustic/less power-pop than his stuff with the Pornagraphers.
Song: "Miracle Drug" Kings of Convenience - Riot on an Empty Street: Don't really know how to describe this one. It's not really upbeat, but it's not a downer either. There's some electronic elements going on, but also some acoustic ones. It's definitely a relaxed sound, but beyond that I got nothing. It's just good.
Song: "Misread" (I really love this entire album, it has jumped to my three favorite albums of the year, so choosing a favorite song is very difficult.) Erlend Oye - DJ Kicks: He's part of Kings of Convenience. This is him DJ'ing. Throws out a lot of different sounds from Phoenix to the Rapture. This is the mix CD I want to make. Rather than putting together a mix cd with a repetitive house beat for 60 minutes, Oye opted to use good songs and string them together, even though some of thei mixing isn't spectacular. But who cares as long as it's fun to listen to? (That's my opinion as a DJ and a listener.)
Song: "Sheltered Life" The Killers - Hot Fuss: I was waiting for this one since I heard the single, "Somebody Told Me." It's rock in the same realm as The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand and The Fever (whose Red Bedroom is another good album from the last few months).
Song: "Mr. Brightside" Jim Guthrie - Now, More than Ever: Like combining Iron & Wine and Death Cab for Cutie (specifically Ben Gibbard). It's emo-ish at times, but overall it's a good album that's very laid back with some acoustic sounds and a voice that sounds hauntingly similar to Gibbard's at times.
Song: "The Evangelist" (It's a very sappy song, and the lyrics aren't that great, but I really like it when he sings "quantum physics.") Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender: Fairly bizarre. It's kind of in the same realm as Bjork. Newsom's voice is high and funny sounding, but after a few listens this album really grew on me.
Song: "Sadie"
August 4, 2004
©
Noah Brier | Thanks for reading. | Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk.