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Drop 22: December 2006
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Thursday, December 21, 2006. Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong. For me, tied up unceasingly in the traditions of Christmas is the music that goes along with it. Our bodies are hard-wired to create music, and it is an essential part of who we are. The same is true of Christmas. Whatever particular tradition you celebrate, be it the birth of Christ, winter solstice, Chanukah, or even Kwanzaa, I think there’s something inborn in each of us that makes us transform a little around December. Sarah’s rendition...
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Drop 22: February 2007
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Friday, February 16, 2007. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile. Need to be a double album? I mean, seriously, Trent, the fact that you have so much art coming out of you (rather like puss from an open sore…) is great, it really is. But have you ever heard of the philosophy “less is more? Wouldn’t it have been better to keep it concise, and in the process save your listeners a little money? Double albums are a little bit tricky, because you need to do several things with them. And The White Album. Not have enou...
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Drop 22: Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun
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Friday, September 21, 2007. Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun. For 16 years now, Guster has been one of the most consistently good bands of the decade-plus. They’ve also represented a friendly, home-grown, crunchy granola type of aesthetic; they could be neighbors knocking on your door to gift you with vegetables grown from their garden. They’ve carried that very early 90’s attitude into the new millennium, and no one questions it because they wear it so well. And I’m pretty sad to see it go. Even “Ai...
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Drop 22: January 2007
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Friday, January 26, 2007. I was at my friend Andy’s house, and I just happened to notice that he had Switchfoot’s new album, Oh! Just as I was leaving. He said, “You wanna borrow it? It’s really bad.”. I thought sure, Andy. Switchfoot couldn’t possibly be bad. All their other albums were at least passable, so they couldn’t possibly make a switch that was so dramatic. So what’s the worst that could happen? How wrong I was…. From the very first second of the record, Switchfoot takes a wrong step. I kind of...
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Drop 22: September 2007
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Friday, September 21, 2007. Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun. For 16 years now, Guster has been one of the most consistently good bands of the decade-plus. They’ve also represented a friendly, home-grown, crunchy granola type of aesthetic; they could be neighbors knocking on your door to gift you with vegetables grown from their garden. They’ve carried that very early 90’s attitude into the new millennium, and no one questions it because they wear it so well. And I’m pretty sad to see it go. Even “Ai...
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Drop 22: Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007. Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light. Jimmy Eat World, the little band that could since the mid-90s, have trekked to areas their emo and punk rock contemporaries wouldn’t go. They’ve dared to evolve and grow when the rest of the emo world was reveling in their pain and suffering. Emo is, after all, the domain of the adolescent, and that description doesn’t fit Jimmy Eat World anymore. It hasn’t for a while. JEW’s last album, Futures. While the beauty of Futures. Like I said, the ...
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Drop 22: January 2008
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. A problem I’ve been encountering with Drop 22 is that I review albums that not a lot of people have heard. People most often say, “good review, but I haven’t heard (blank)’s music.”. Well, if you think I was being obscure before, just read the rest of this review. Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Is considered by the uber-music-knowledgeable to be one of the best indie non-mainstream albums ever. All the b...
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Drop 22: They Might Be Giants - The Else
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Friday, October 12, 2007. They Might Be Giants - The Else. One of the biggest cults in current activity is that of They Might Be Giants. They have a fan club, a vibrant internet life including a wiki. And throngs of geeky college students, as well as seasoned music veterans, who absolutely adore them. Ever since I heard them, I’ve been hooked. Part of the secret to their success is their very close connection to their fans, and they’ve never let them down. And Here Come the ABCs. Is one of their best.
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Drop 22: April 2007
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Friday, April 27, 2007. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Oftentimes I think the music world at large is getting into a rut. Thankfully, at this most recent time, along came Modest Mouse to show me that not. Everything is just the same old boring filler. They renewed my knowledge that music can be daring, original, and boundary-pushing. A little-known band since 1996, Modest Mouse finally broke out big-time with their 2004 smash Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Record companie...
