words and things, poetry and otherness

Will Sheff (Okkervil River) live in Chicago 2/28/06

2006-03-05T21:01:00.000-06:00

Will Sheff, live at Schuba's.
some pictures, words, and video

Will Sheff, lead singer of Okkervil River, played a live (solo) set at Schuba's Bar in Chicago on Friday, February 24, 2006. It was my first live experience with him or any member of O.River and also my first time at Schuba's. I was pleasantly surprised by the intimacy of the event. We showed up midway through the opening act, Brandon Durham (now of Austin, TX's The octopus Project) to find a relaxed and polite crowd watching intently.

Just in case the audience was looking for For Real, Black, Lady Liberty and The War Criminal Rises and Speaks, Will pointed out he'd be "playing some new songs and some lesser known songs tonight." Will set up his own equipment - guitar and piano. He smiled genuinely after each song and seemed very happy to perform for his young crowd. At one point he commented on "how lame it is when you see an act go 'Oh, we're just going to try this one out and see if we can do it." He then quickly quipped, "that's exactly what you're about to see. sorry." Though he had a slight lyrical mishap in the subsequent song, the show went off without a hitch.

He did, in fact, play some new songs, both from Okkervil River and it's sister band, Shearwater. The 'lesser known songs' were certainly lesser known for me, as I couldn't tell you what the titles were. That fact can't hinder what had to be the highlight of the show. He transitioned from a song about a movie star into a song about a drug dealer. If I were to place a bet, I'd say the second will be a track off of Shearwater's upcoming 2006 release.

Anyway, imagine halfway through the song, Will's voice separating into two entities (bear with me). The first voice stays on land. The second hops on a little sailboat and wades out into the middle of a lake. The first voice says to the second, "You've never earned your soul." And the second voice, far removed on that little boat, cries back, "I know." This exchange goes on for a few seconds until the boat voice calls out, "But I'm gonna try."

I hadn't heard the song before, but have listened to it quite a bit since the show thanks to the trusty development of cheap sound recorders. A few of the songs I do know the names of that he did play were: A Glow, For Real (on the piano), Red, Song of Our So-Called Friend, A Stone (see video), A Makeover (Shearwater), and Westfall (the encore). I got a few pictures and one video from the show. Here's some more of them.

Will Sheff - A Stone

2005-12-15T21:34:00.000-06:00

I went to Ireland for a semester. It was fun. I finally figured how to put up pictures on this thing. I still am not sure about the idea of a blog. But, a) since I already made one, and b) since I can put pictures on here I figure I might as well keep putting things up for my own sake. So here are some pictures that are pretty and lovely and nice...

the above picture is in Galway, Ireland where the river meets the bay which meets the sunset.

above: a view from the Dingle Peninsula on the southwest coast of Ireland.

people wonder about St. Patty's Day in Ireland. this is the city center in Galway.

a nice row of pubs and shops in Dingle town on a thursday night. good night for live music there.

that's a picture from the Dingle Peninsula as well. i liked that lil' place. but this picture pretty much includes all of the wonders of Irish countryside: green. sheep. water. winding roads. mountains. clouds (lots and/or lots of clouds).

a friend and i went up to Northern Ireland. this is the Giant's Causeway on the northern coast of the country. there were some pretty crazy rock formations and sunsets there.

here is more from Giant's Causeway. the rocks were formed over a large amount of years due to some form of science thing. i don't remember how. but it looks cool. and the myth about an irish giant named MacCool building the rocks purposely more or less proves my point.

this would be Galway Bay, just around the corner from my old apartment. the picture is even more dramatic that it would seem. the sun appeared on a sunday evening after about 3 weeks of hiding behind those pesky clouds. there were tears of joy. it was intense.

okay, that is all for now. i'll most likely post more pictures at a later date.
holler at an irishmen.

2005-10-18T00:57:00.000-05:00

Question: Who are these people that are buying the new Nickelback album? Are there really enough music-listeners purchasing this CD to make it the highest selling album of the week America? Are they actually leaving their homes, driving to their local CD conglomerate, picking it off the shelf and walking up to the counter with a straight face?

Answer: These are probably the same people that have put The Black Eyed Peas most recent album ninth on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. This, just 18 weeks after its release and the onslaught of the Peas selling themselves to every media outlet in existence, not excluding ‘getting the party started’ in Twix commercials and the live-action film, Garfield.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve come into the whole concept of a new release from Nickelback a bit biased and uniformed as to the actual content of the album. However, relevant knowledge is not a prerequisite for writing a Viewpoint. And I stand by my right to be bitter and uppity when it comes to this particular subject.

Nonetheless, I’ve decided record companies need no real originality to release such a high grossing CD, like Nickelback’s “All the Right Reasons.” I’m sure the execs only need to ask three questions before saying “yes” to the backing of such a band. 1. Have they made money for us before? 2. Can they reproduce the same mediocre hook and or chorus in their forthcoming singles? 3. Can we cut the lead singer’s hair to give him a new look and provide a metaphor for the artistic progression of the band?

Of course, the answer to each of these questions is: why not? Unless you’re Ron Burgundy, answering a question with another one is simply not the best solution. These record companies should hire at least one man or woman competent enough to jump into these conversations and actually tell them “why not.” The answer is: because the music is recycled, boring, and will subsequently be featured in the trailer for the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer movie. And no one needs to see that.

I apologize for the blaringly obvious complaints I have made. It goes without saying that it has become a problem. American FM radio is simply appalling, and it has been for as long as I can remember. I had no problem with it when my mom was driving me to basketball practice and the new Sister Hazel song came on the air. Though it may be silly for me to hope for such things, it would be nice to see radio mature, just as my musical tastes have since then.

Despite all of these problems, I really do think decent music has a chance to overtake the Nickelbacks and Sugar Rays of today’s culture. Whether its college radio, mp3s, MTV2, or the one “Float On” type song that becomes mainstream every few years, I won’t rule out the possibility of good music pervading our culture.

However, this potential for change only brings on another question. Do you want your favorite band or song that only you and your friends know about becoming the favorite band or song to millions of Americans? I say, “why not?”

And this time, I think it’s okay. For example, it only took exactly one week before the release of the new Franz Ferdinand album became engrossed in pop-culture. FOX, airing the Major League Baseball postseason, took advantage of the band’s catchy riffs and played their new single throughout the broadcast. Though the song will, of course, become overplayed and hard to listen to in the same way, I’d rather have it be Franz Ferdinand over Nickelback any day.

While tunes like these will surely go from fun and enjoyable to a matter of annoyance, I can still take pride in knowing I listened to that song three days before the rest of America did. It doesn’t matter to me. If it means one less consumer being able to keep a straight face when they go to buy the new Nickelback album, then music in the mainstream might be finally on the right track.

2005-08-11T03:26:00.000-05:00

I don't have anything to say, really. However, I am hoping at some point in the near future I do. I'm not sure what it will take to make that happen, but I am optimistic that something worthwhile will come about. Here are some potential life-changing or blog-inspiring things that could, in fact, happen to cause some quasi-artistic-substance. In descending order of most likely to happen...

5. Someone comes across the 8 intensely unimportant words I have wrote on here and decides I have just what it takes to make a career out of writing things down when I think of them, thus leading to a book deal, a high-rise apartment, and status. Years later, I will be offered a reality TV show based off the lives of my stubborn, spoiled, spunky children and what it's like to grow up in such a crazy household.

4. I will discover a completely new and original wristband. It will probably be a burnt-orange color, because I believe that is the only color left. Due to the awesome power of the 4 inspirational words imprinted on it (probably saying something extremely vague like, "count on more," or "we are hope," or "stay the course") I will be moved to change my lifestyle, begin following a "prophet", and decide my life's purpose is to preach to the masses through the wonderful world of blogs.

3. Frogs begin to pour down from the sky, causing me to crash my car in a Magnolian way that somehow connects me with a stranger who just so happens to have the key to the vault that holds the axe that will later be used to cut the tongue out of Steven A. Smith's mouth, thus allowing ESPN to return to its regular roster of human beings that don't get gradually louder the more time they are aloud to talk on national television (excluding Regis, he will remain).

2. I will take a funny picture of something that one or more persons can relate to and decide to put it online in hopes of sharing said humor with that one or more persons.

1. I'll be bored, procrastinating, and tired of clicking reload on my audioscrobbler page.

If any of those events arise, I will be sure to post another item. Only God knows, though.

2005-07-23T19:20:00.000-05:00

I realize that it is a little late to come out with my very own blog.

I also realize that it is a bit arrogant to think that my life deserves it’s very own biased, quasi daily analysis and that people 1) would read it and 2) continue to read it out of some potential personal enjoyment.

I continue to realize that this might be the worst time to come out with a blog, seeing as it is, by far, not a new idea. Continuing with that thought, I am quite definitely, though probably egotistically, into ideas and actions that only I thought of either first or almost before anyone else did.

Be all that as it may, I am releasing my very own blog. Okay, applause unnecessary. But, I do appreciate it. Expect nothing from reading this. In fact, I would prefer it if you had no predispositions or opinions on my writing, my personality, my analytical abilities, or my humanness. Instead, just imagine a name. A guy with a name, with a keyboard. A guy, with a name, with a keyboard, with an opinion on something ... and maybe a lamp off to the side (maybe). That is really all I expect from you, the reader. And by “the reader” I simply mean my parents, the CIA, and that lonely 27 year old that tries out new blogs each day in hope of making "internet pals."

And now we can all move on to something of actual substance. Here goes…

Does anyone know what Cory Matthews has been up to lately? I haven't seen or heard from him in a while. He can't really be that busy, that he is unable to stop by sometime or even say hi. He is probably still married to Topanga, living next door to Mr. Pheeny, and getting into senseless situations involving the same three people every time.

Alright, I'm not gonna lie. I don't really have anything to talk about today. Maybe someday. But, probably not. In the meantime I'll keep thinking of words and otherness to discuss.

In conclusion, things are good. Got it. Yes.

One love.

-Colin