Finally, a meme worth your time. . .

Where The Hell Is Matt?

Evening Mix Follow-up: Track Details

This post refers to a previous one.

1) The Middle East - Blood (5:27)

from the album The Recordings of The Middle East (2008)

2) Okay - My (3:11)

from the album Huggable Dust (2008)

3) Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree (3:13)

from the album Soft Airplane (2008)

4) Langhorne Slim - Restless (2:17)

from the album Langhorne Slim (2008)

5) The Acorn - Crooked Legs (5:07)

from the album Glory Hope Mountain (2007)

6) Sailmaker - Build a Fire (4:15)

from the EP Build a Fire (2008)

7) Peasant - The Wind (3:17)

from the album On the Ground (2008)

8) Russian Red - Cigarettes (2:01)

from the album I Love Your Glasses (2008)

9) Liz Durrett - We Build Bridges (3:54)

from the album Outside Our Gates (2008)

10) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener (3:57)

from the album Shallow Grave (2008)

HHDC Evening Mix

"He who hears music, feels his solace peopled at once."

- Robert Browning

1) The Middle East - Blood (5:27)

2) Okay - My (3:11)

3) Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree (3:13)

4) Langhorne Slim - Restless (2:17)

5) The Acorn - Crooked Legs (5:07)

6) Sailmaker - Build a Fire (4:15)

7) Peasant - The Wind (3:17)

8) Russian Red - Cigarettes (2:01)

9) Liz Durett - We Build Bridges (3:54)

10) The Tallest Man on Earth - The Gardener (3:57)

Top 50 Songs of 2008

First of all, I can't stress this enough - the order is entirely random - I couldn't hope to ever select a single song that defines an entire year. These are fifty songs that consistently made it into my playlist, songs I have trouble forgetting (even if I want to). These songs are taken from anywhere - full-length albums, EPs, singles, etc. and cross nearly all genres. The one rule is that only one track per artist/band was allowed.

I thought 2007 was a banner year for new music, so many great albums were released from the likes of The National, Jens Lekman, Dolorean, Josh Ritter, Architecture in Helsinki etc. But this year was more of a singles year. I found only a scant handful of records worthy of a complete buy. The majority of the year was spent purchasing a track here and another there.

You may find that many of the "it" artists who are tearing up the charts across the blogosphere such as The Dodos, Girl Talk, Foals, Wolf Parade, No Age, and TV on the Radio aren't featured on this list. That's because, be honest with yourself, they're bloody awful. When there are melodies they lack any sort of coherent structure and when these acts rock it's simply bone-jarring noise. I realize this is their aim, but this sort of music only makes me cringe and laugh....like listening to a Patton Oswalt record.

Also, a couple of these were released in 2007, but made it on the list because I only just discovered them this year. Other songs, like Bon Iver's "Skinny Love", aren't on the list because I heard them last year (even though Bon Iver had a higher profile re-release this year).

1) MGMT - Kids (5:03)

2) Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire (4:52)

3) Joan as Policewoman - To Be Loved (3:03)

4) Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses (9:43)

5) Neon Neon (ft. Cate Lebon) - I Lust You (3:00)

6) Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance (Chromeo Remix) (4:03)

7) Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating (3:30)

8) Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree (3:13)

9) Frightened Rabbit - Backwards Walk (3:31)

10) Vetiver - The Swimming Song (2:40)

11) Passion Pit - Cuddle Fuddle (4:32)

12) Samamidon - Wedding Dress (4:34)

13) The Boy Bathing - The Questions Simple (4:10)

14) The Little Hands of Asphalt - Blue & Green (3:04)

15) The Middle East - Blood (5:27)

16) The Low Anthem - Ohio (3:19)

17) Chairlift - Bruises (4:01)

18) Dent May & His Magnificent Ukelele - Pierce Avenue (3:05)

19) Taj Mahal - Never Let You Go (4:45)

20) The Hold Steady - Sequestered in Memphis (3:32)

21) The Acorn - Crooked Legs (5:08)

22) The Bird & The Bee - Birthday (3:29)

23) Shearwater - Rooks (3:21)

24) Micah P. Hinson - Sunrise Over the Olympus Moons (4:21)

25) The Decemberists - Valerie Plame (4:58)

26) Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today (3:21)

27) Bowery Boy Blue - Great Dead Town (3:40)

28) Russian Red - Cigarettes (2:01)

29) Brooke Waggoner - Live for the Sounds (2:35)

30) Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes (3:41)

31) Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why (3:21)

32) Olivia Broadfield - Fool Today (2:44)

33) Ladyhawke - Magic (3:27)

34) Sam Sparro - Too Many Questions (3:56)

35) Kleerup (ft. Marit Bergman) - 3AM (3:57)

36) Drive-By Truckers - Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife (3:05)

37) Headlights - Cherry Tulips (3:28)

38) Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer (3:28)

39) Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (3:33)

40) Langhorne Slim - Restless (2:17)

41) Laura Marling - Ghosts (3:01)

42) Deerhoof - Agoraphobia (3:22)

43) Mother Mother - Hayloft (3:03)

44) Centromatic - I, the Kite (3:04)

45) Anna Ternheim - To Be Gone (2:48)

46) Band of Horses - The Ends Not Near (The New Year Cover) (3:34)

47) The Lodger - The Good Old Days (3:23)

48) Young Coyotes - Momentary Drowning (2:36)

49) The Airborne Toxic Event - Sometime Around Midnight (5:04)

50) Kitty Hawk - Bear in the Morning (2:05)

Fallout 3 - Game of the Year

The original Fallout, the one that started it all, was released well over a decade ago. The sequel? Ten years ago. Load up either of the embryonic entries in this franchise and todays gamers are likely to be less than impressed. There's the primitive SVGA graphics, turn-based combat reminicent of a board game (not to mention the top-down isometric perspective), and only a scant handful of characters with full voice dialogue.

It would, however, be a disservice to dismiss these games so easily. The mechanics may be vastly outdated, but both games contain a vast, complex world in which your every action directly affects the future of the wasteland at large. The dialogue trees alone could fill a book, the map was massive with plenty of secrets to discover, and that's not including the clever strategies you could devise with a combat system that is turn-based.

Then came a few more forgettable entries, the cancelled Van Buren project, the bankruptcy of Interplay, and finally Bethesda saved the franchise by announcing they would be developing the third installment. Despite the fact that both Fallout 3 and Oblivion utilized the same engine, and contrary to the many pre-release conjectures and even some reviewers, you should know that Fallout 3 never feels like an "Oblivion mod".

The only manner in which Fallout vaguely resembles Oblivion is during conversations with characters, as the mechanics are nearly the same. Though it should be noted that Fallout features more interactive dialogue trees whereas Oblivion had simple, typically one-word topics. Unfortunately, perhaps due to every character being voice-acted, their replies sometimes aren't much varied. For instance, you'll often find a character will reply with nearly the same response to all three dialogue choices.

Fallout 3 was not a rushed release either, as is also often claimed by some reviewers. There was a very long development cycle for this title covering many years. In fact, the press release for Fallout 3 pre-dated the one for Oblivion, which was released in '06. Look it up. Fallout 3, without a question, contains the most impressive 3D world I've ever seen. It's simply astonishing the detail that went into crafting this world, from the ruins of Washington D.C. to the vast wasteland itself - rest assured it will take at least 100 hours to explore it all.

The only major complaint here is that there are relatively few developed cities to explore. Essentially, there are only two major settlements - the rest are merely small "trading posts". Also, Fallout 3 fails to replicate the "outlaw spirit" in *any* of their cities. For instance, Fallout 2 players will recall how seedy and dangerous the cities of The Den and New Reno could be. There were no guards and no one really cared if you offed a drug dealer or killed a shopowner. Not so in Fallout 3, as the wasteland cities are remarkably civilized.

The character development is top notch and utilizes nearly all of the elements from the previous games - most notably the perk system. Other than leveling, stat gains can be had by finding various skillbooks or collecting bobbleheads. These are unique items hidden all over the wasteland, akin to the intel pieces in games like Call of Duty 4. When you obtain your home in the game there's a display case on which you can place your bobblehead collection.

One serious, glaring flaw is the level cap. At level 20 your character will cease to gain experience from anything, effectively halting his or her development. I suppose this was something implemented to encourage creating multiple characters, but it mostly serves as a killjoy. Critics may argue that having a character who is proficient at a dozen or more skills is "unrealistic". Honestly, nothing is realistic about any game, it's all fantasy. For instance, every RPG ever made has allowed your character to carry many, many more things than a single person ever could. So if I want to make a level 78 character in Fallout 3 with every skill maxed - I should be able to do that, provided I gain enough experience.

Turn-based combat is simply not technically feasible in a 3D environment, but the developers recreated this experience as best as possible with the VATS system - which freezes the game and allows you to target any point on the enemies body. As many have mentioned here, there is one large flaw with VATS. In spite of what the percentage may say, there are times your shot may be blocked by the environment and there's no way to prevent your character from wastefully unloading twenty rounds into a concrete wall!

Fallout 2 had an astonishing array of various weapons and types of armor, and while Fallout 3 certainly hits all the high points - there isn't as much variety as the previous title. Still, there is a nice selection of ballistic weapons and energy weapons, in addition to a launcher that can fire tiny nukes! And that's not even including the weapons you can build yourself. . .

The radio stations present in Fallout 3 add a great dose of immersion. Galaxy News Radio, helmed by the colorful Three Dog, plays pre-war music in addition to commenting on what's going on in the wasteland. He'll often broadcast what your character has been up to - with occasionally amusing commentary. Some have complained that the station lacks song variety. I find this interesting, as the developers licensed some twenty songs from the forties and fifties. Besides, I'm sure most of the world's vinyl burned in that massive armageddon deal!

An amazing feature of the original Fallouts were the ending sequences. The narrator would explain in detail how all your actions affected each locale in addition to explaining how the world will progress forward. A small decision early in the game could have lasting ramifications for your characters ending sequence. Despite some early previews hinting at a similar system, Fallout 3 basically has two endings - one with good karma and one with bad karma. The rest are just very, very slight variations.

One last note: the Securom software, in this case, is NOT a big deal. The version here is limited to a simple disk check. I despise draconian DRM as much as anyone else (which is why I did not purchase Bioshock or Mass Effect) but Bethesda does not make use of the more extreme measures. Besides, if you dislike even the disk check - you should buy a console. PC gamers need to understand that malignant software like Securom (and DRM in general) is not going anywhere.

Top 50 Songs of 2007

First of all, and I can't stress this enough, the order is entirely random - I couldn't hope to ever select a single song that defines an entire year. These are fifty songs that consistently made it into my playlist, songs I have trouble forgetting (even if I want to). These songs are taken from anywhere - full-length albums, EPs, singles, etc. and cross nearly all genres. The one rule is that only one track per artist/band was allowed.

1) St. Vincent - Marry Me (4:41)


2) The Low Anthem - The Ballad of the Broken Bones (3:56)


3) Band of Horses - Detlef Schrempf (4:29)


4) Architecture in Helsinki - Lazy (2:55)


5) The Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running (3:29)


6) The National - Fake Empire (3:25)


7) Dolorean - Heather Remind Me How This Ends (2:44)


8) Feist - 1-2-3-4 (3:03)


9) Jens Lekman - Your Arms Around Me (Acoustic Version) (3:12)


10) Josh Ritter - To the Dogs or Whoever (3:02)


11) Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining (3:36)


12) Beirut - A Sunday Smile (3:35)


13) Athlete - Flying Over Bus Stops (4:28)


14) Basia Bulat - Before I Knew (2:50)


15) The Rosebuds - I Better Run (3:49)


16) The Avett Brothers - Die Die Die (2:50)


17) Shout Out Louds - Normandie (3:23)


18) Sambassadeur - Between the Lines (2:44)


19) Rocky Votolato - Postcard from Kentucky (2:56)


20) Corb Lund - Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier (5:12)


21) Chris Garneau - We Don't Try (3:37)


22) Against Me - Thrash Unreal (4:17)


23) Brooke Waggoner - Hush If You Must (4:17)


24) Club 8 - Jesus Walk With Me (3:09)


25) Sea Wolf - The Cold, the Dark, and the Silence (4:25)


26) Great Lake Swimmers - When It Flows (3:34)


27) Illinois - Alone Again (3:11)


28) Magnet - Gospel Song (3:32)


29) Math & Physics Club - Nothing Really Happened (3:24)


30) Seabear - Libraries (3:18)


31) matt pond PA - Taught to Look Away (2:49)


32) Oh No! Oh My! - The Party Punch (3:59)


33) Loch Lomond - All Your Friends Are Smiling (3:47)


34) Marisa Nadler - Diamond Heart (3:47)


35) Ferraby Lionheart - Small Planet (3:14)


36) Andrew Bird - Heretics (3:33)


37) Honeycut - Shadows (3:38)


38) David Gray - One With The Birds (5:21)


39) Arctic Monkeys - Flourescent Adolescent (2:57)


40) Vandaveer - However Many Takes It Takes (2:31)


41) The Rumble Strips - Girls and Boys in Love (2:33)


42) The Cribs - Men's Needs (CSS Remix) (4:13)


43) Okkervil River - Plus Ones (3:43)


44) Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy (4:43)


45) Dappled Cities - Fire Fire Fire (3:48)


46) Interpol - Rest My Chemistry (5:00)


47) The Frames - True (5:14)


48) Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers (3:34)


49) Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks (4:39)


50) Eluvium - Radio Ballet (3:12)

Brooke Waggoner

Two months. It's been two months since the last update here on HHDC. How can that be? Is there not a wealth of material to cover?

It is theoretically possible to cover a new act every day for the duration of a lifetime without ever repeating - so why has it been two months?

In that time, dozens of new releases have hit the streets and a horde of new acts have uploaded their demos to the world at large. The bloggers have waxed poetic about new offerings from Owen Pallett's forthcoming EPs (he typically records under the moniker Final Fantasy), the latest news on new records from The Walkmen and The Broken West, and pretty much anything Bon Iver does.

There is certainly plenty of material to write about - as long as the parameters concerning quality have the bar set quite low. For instance, Mr. Pallett displays impressive technical talent with the violin, but the compositions themselves are clinical and mundane. His debut is more of a chore to work through, despite the scattered splotches of brilliance amidst the debris.

Both The Walkmen and The Broken West are wholly derivative acts, completely soulless entities that remain pleasant yet utterly passable. Now that I think about it - there was one track from The Walkmen I listened to a few times and found rather interesting. Though it should be noted I later discovered the song, "Another One Goes By", is actually a note-by-note cover of a song by the band formerly known as Mazarin.

As for Bon Iver, there's no mistaking his showmanship - one listen to "Skinny Love" is an instant hook...yet to delve deeper into his works is to reveal that nearly every song is built from the same mold. His debut record is like the Terra Cotta army of China - all different in some way or another, yet if you've seen one you've seen them all.

I cannot advocate covering a band simply because they exist.

If a group of people come together with some proficiency musically: an apt vocalist, inventive melody structures, and a smattering of bizarrely staged publicity photos - they're primed for the indie spotlight.

Theoretically, this would cover all the bases for a successful career in the music industry. Yet simply because these people are capable of miming the prerequisites it doesn't automatically follow that they will be compelling artists.

Still, if the act is capable of giving off the illusion of prowess, critics and bloggers will run wild with praise. A prime example of this phenomenon, unheard of until the internet age, is prominent indie act Black Kids.

Stupid headwear? Check. Empty, too-cool-for-school expressions? Check. Then they have to be awesome!

Black Kids are talented, as their single "Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)" stands to boast. The track is hopelessly upbeat and accessible. And yet it sounds exactly like something The Go! Team would produce, and worse - it sounds like a song we have all heard before a thousand times over.

Their first single, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend to Dance with You", has helped to propel their debut record to the top ten spot in the UK. Evidently the public adores the "clever" song title, as you can find countless bloggers who've devoted part of their gushing reviews to that alone. Taken on its own merits, however, the song is solidly mediocre at best.

This recalls the hype surrounding the act Ok Go, who can only credit the inventive video for the song "Here It Goes Again" for selling thousands of copies of their debut Oh No. The song is a by-the-numbers pop-rock ice cream cake, a simplistic song derivative of nearly any other band in their genre.

Oh boy, this makes me wanna buy their record!

And yet, again thanks to the massively popular video, the song is featured in numerous commercials, has inspired countless parodies, and is a playable song in Rock Band. (I can personally attest that the track is a dull, tepid chore to cover in the game.)

In some ways I'm torn. If someone truly thinks an act like Black Kids are the highlight of Summer 2008, part of me wants to exclaim "God bless, enjoy"....while another part feels as if they're simply buying into the hype or subscribing to the sellout conundrum. That is summarily just as bad as listening to whatever the radio or television forcefeeds you.

I cannot advocate covering a band simply because they exist.

HHDC could cover material from the past during the intervals in which there is little in the way of fascinating new music. In fact, the majority of the entries here are devoted to such - from reviews of the legendary discography of The Smiths to the outstanding (and nearly forgotten) debut record of Martin Page. Many other bloggers use this technique in some form or another.

And what is that but an exercise in favoritism? A highly subjective jaunt into the favorites of someone half a world away. To a certain extent any blog by definition conforms to that description, yet I believe the primary purpose should be to extoll the virtures of emergent artists who can use all the exposure they can muster.

HHDC was created for the singular purpose of presenting innovative artists who are crafting the most sublime music of our generation. It was never intended to be a hype machine or a bandwagon - it was to be instead a beacon on the darkened corridors of the independent music world.

Those hidden crevices where Seabear resided, the craggly oak tree underneath which Josh Ritter strummed his guitar, and the cramped studio apartment where Brooke Waggoner rehearses were the only sort of places HHDC wanted to be.

This missive could continue until the end of this decade, but in the interest of saving time, I would like to return to the namesake of this entry - Brooke Waggoner.

I've been replaying Miss Waggoner's debut Fresh Pair of Eyes for the past month now (the entire six-track EP is available for free download on her website) and marveling at how inventive and beautiful the damn thing is.

Yes, it could be asserted that the work is derivative of other piano-based chanteuses such as Vanessa Carlton, but when an artist is as supremely talented as Miss Waggoner and performs with such divine conviction - it is an arduous task to simply dismiss the work out of hand.

So it was with great joy that I received the following Brooke Waggoner newsletter earlier this week, which read as follows:

Hi my friends,

So, next week is jam-packed with deals, steals, and freebies:

Tuesday (sept. 2), my new album Heal for the Honey will be available on iTunes for an exclusive offer of $7.99 - for the album in it's entirety! This will only take place for one week... AND, in the spirit of celebration, I am giving each of you a song from the album for FREE, entitled "Live for the Sounds." This is one of my favorite songs on the record. Full of string stabs, plural words, key changes, and romping drums - all tightly wound into a 2:30 package.

Tours promoting the new album are currently in the works, and I can't wait to get to your city and share with you all.

Much love!

Brooke

Beneath that was the link for the exclusive download "Live for the Sounds". After the inaugural listen I was once again overwhelmed with enthusiasm for this emerging artist, as there is a certain clarity to her work that is practically unparalleled by her peers.

If you doubt this, why don't you find out for yourself. . .



"Hush If You Must" from Fresh Pair of Eyes EP (2007)



"Live for the Sounds" from Heal for the Honey (2008)

Fourth of July!

"Born in the U.S.A."

Taken from Born in the U.S.A. (1984)

In honor of the 4th of July, we here at HHDC salute the classic Bruce Springsteen album Born in the U.S.A. - which was released exactly fourteen years ago today. With it's anthemic title track and lengthy list of singles (which extended for more than a year after the release), it remains the biggest selling Springsteen album and one of the finest records of the eighties.

Though not exactly a patriotic song, the title track is nearly always associated with the holiday (particularly since the release was deliberately timed to coincide with it) and so we present it here. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Bonus Track

"Star Spangled Banner (Live)"

taken from Jimi Hendrix: The Ultimate Experience (1993)

Stereolab

Stereolab's new record, Chemical Chords, is slated for release in mid-August. It's been four long years since their last LP and anticipation has been rapidly growing amongt fans of the avant-garde electronica/rock group.

While no material from the album is available at present, I couldn't help but think back to 1996 - specifically Stereolab's breakthrough work Emperor Tomato Ketchup.

It's a testament to the considerable talents of the group that, twelve years on, the music sounds just as fresh and inventive as the day it was released.

"Metronomic Underground" & "Cybele's Reverie"

Both taken from Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

In 1972, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released the landmark triple LP Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The young, shaggy haired band (best known, at the time, for their cover of "Mr. Bojangles") traveled from California to Nashville to create what they hoped would be a meshwork between two generations of musicians ensconced in the tradition of country and bluegrass music. What unfolded surpassed anyones wildest expectations.

The band was able to secure studio time with the giants of the genre, including: Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, Doc Watson, and Maybelle Carter. In total, there are an incredible thirty-seven songs (thirty-eight if you count the dialogue track) - nearly all of which is indispensible material.

In the years to come, the band released two subsequent volumes in the same grand tradition, sometimes even featuring younger artists such as Alison Krauss and Vince Gill. Although none quite reached the artistic heights achieved on the first volume, there are still outstanding highlights to be found on both.

In 2003, roughly a year after the release of the third volume, the complete trilogy was released in a compact boxed set. It assembled the remastered version of the first volume (including four bonus tracks, though only one is a complete song), both successive volumes, and a DVD - comprising six discs in total.

Two booklets are also included: one details the song credits and performers for each track, and the other contains an interesting essay concerning the formation of the entire project.

The DVD is perhaps the best reason to purchase this set, even if you own one or two of the albums already. It contains an outstanding hour-long concert, a brief documentary about the band, a music video for the track "The Lowlands", and three bonus concert performances not included in the final version.

One of the highlights of the concert is the performance of "Catfish John" featuring Alison Krauss (pictured below). Others include a spirited rendition of the mad-cap instrumental "Earl's Breakdown" and a very fun, nostalgic performance of "Fishin' Blues" featuring Taj Mahal.

I've included some of my favorites from each album below, clicking on the pictures will direct you to each album's listing on Amazon. A click on any of the above photos will take you to the Amazon listing for the complete trilogy.

"My Walkin' Shoes" (w/ Jimmy Martin)

"Earl's Breakdown" (w/ Earl Scruggs)

Both taken from Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume One



"Mary Danced with Soldiers" (w/ Emmylou Harris)

"The Valley Road" (w/ Bruce Hornsby)

Both taken from Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two



"Mama's Opry" (w/ Iris Dement)

"Catfish John" (w/Alison Krauss)

Both taken from Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Three

Neil Young

On my way to work one recent, misty morning I heard this track on the radio. Still half-asleep and bleary-eyed, my mind was entirely focused on the road ahead until this song appeared. Somehow, it all came together wonderfully.

Neil Young "After the Gold Rush" from After the Gold Rush (1970)

HHDC Mix EP #4

"The joy of music should never be interrupted by a commercial." - Leonard Bernstein

Morcheeba "A Well Deserved Break" from Fragments of Freedom (2000)

Sam Amidon "Wedding Dress" from All is Well (2008)

Mark Mallman "Knockout on 22nd St." from Between the Devil and Middle C (2006)

Voxtrot "The Start of Something" from Raised by Wolves EP (2005)

The Gray Brigade "Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" from Fanfare (2007)