Album du jour #17 - Moose and Gay Sqverrrll

Wow - Menomena is doing a west coast tour that includes a show at Whitman College in Walla Walla....a show at Eugene's WOW hall, Visalia CA (where my father lives), and even Troutdale!! If only they did a show in Rancho Cucamonga, they'll have gotten to nearly every important city in my life in one go (well actually they're playing Pomona, which is pretty damn close...)

Boris with Michio Kurihara - Rainbow (2006)

Prior Relationship to Album: Recommendation from...I don't remember who? Haven't listened to it before...and boy, am I finding out how little of my music collection that I've really listened to. I should find some stupid reason to compel myself to listen to it randomly so I can't ignore things I don't know about...oh, wait! Anyways, this is a collaborative album between Boris, who, as wikipedia tells me, is part of Japan's "experimental doom" scene, and the psychadelic rocker Kurihara. I can only imagine that this album will be what it would be like if you took the two American music styles of doom metal and psych rock and threw in a bunch of atomic monsters and mutant tentacles that rape schoolgirls.

High Point: #06 Voce Sorriu Como Uma Marca D'agua. Most of the first half of the album reminds me most of a slightly harder edged Sigur Ros with Yes solos looped on top of them. It works better than it sounds when I say it (likely because I suck at writing about music). This song caught my attention more than most because it is upbeat, dark, and the guitar solo works really quite well. Also because the translation of the title comes out to "You Laughed Like a Water Mark" - which is the best song name I've heard in a very long time. Actually I didn't know that until after I picked this track, but I'm nothing if not a historical revisionist.

Low Point: #08 "Doce No 1". This sounds like what I used to do when I was 13, when I would turn my effects pedal to da MAX and shittily solo over my Soundgarden cds.

What I Realized/Learned: Japan has an experimental doom scene. And that experimental doom exists.

Future Relationship to Album: In situations where I'd normally play some Agaetis Byrjun but feel a little dirty, then I'll put this on.

A-Rod: I don't mind his absolutely incredible start to the season...partially because he had such a rough time of it last year, that him having a sterling start is a great story. But I really don't mind it when Jeter makes errors at 3rd, Riveria gets shelled, and the Yanks end up losing despite A-Rod's absurd homer hitting.