Music This Week 006: The Stills Album I Couldn't Find, Underoath, and turning 27.

I'm old.

There I said it.

Actually an interesting thing crossed my mind the other day while driving to my parent's place for dinner. I had Underoath in the CD player. There was a point at which I though I'd be past this.

No, not this point on Wayne Gretzky Drive. I thought a time would come where I'd stop listening to hard music, but it just hasn't happened. Maybe in my 30's, but at 27, I'm still enjoying it, if not more now than I did when I was younger. It's interesting growing older as a music appreciator. In addition to having all the wierd hopeless romantic fetishes that music appreciators have (like in High Fidelity), you look back at all this mass of music you collected and wonder as to why...what drove you to take on this expansive undertaking of analyzing, enjoying, keeping it all in order, etc. There's also those other crazy things like

• -I want to be a rock star
• -I am a musician
• -I cannot find a girl in which so many musicians express so much passion for in songs. I want to write songs like that and therefore, I want a girl for which to be passionate about
• -Possibly I want a girl who is a musician

I was once told by this girl that I was dating that "[she] was used to being the star in the relationship." I told her by all means, she could be. I don't think that worked, because she didn't stick with me. I don't consider myself a star by any means, but being a music collector, appreciator and even a musician or just a general music nerd carries in itself a certain elitism that's undeniable. Some people can think it's nerdy and a waste of time and effort (and money if you're like me). Others might find it intimidating.

Now on to what I had on the laser turntable this week. First; I still can't stop listening to Jackson Square by the Arkells. Again, it took from July to freaking late March for me to get a hold of this album, but I did, and I've been obsessing over it since. There really hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't listened to it. I told you to pick up some songs from it in the last edition. I feel like everyone should just listen to the whole album.

I finally got the Stills Oceans Will Rise this week. Every store had been out of it for quite sometime, until I went to the HMV in Bonnie Doon mall after getting milk at Safeway. It is, I guess, a little wierder than I thought it would be. In spite of that, there are still some good songs on it, although my favourite is still Being Here which has already been licenced to Alexander Kieth's.

Fuck it.

Then there's Underoath. In 2004 AP gave them 5/5 for the album They're Only Chasing Safety, and said openly that it was "unlike anything else out there." Unfortunately, that's not even remotely true. I don't really think it's true of that album either. I picked up their most recent Lost In The Sound of Seperation and was surprised at how just like Norma Jean it sounded when Cove Reeber guests on their tracks. Spencer Chamberlain definitely has an emo whine when he isn't growling the rust off his vocal cords. Outside of that; I have no idea how this band was labelled as a Christian band. They are about as much a Christian band as Evaneasance was, or Hayley Williams of Paramour is. I mean, maybe the band itself is Christian, but this is far from a Christian band, just like how Norma Jean was supposed to be Christian, and perhaps some of the songs pertain to scipture, but not in a Love Jesus sort of way. The album isn't a 5/5 for me as Ross Robinson's produced Anti Mother by Norma Jean. But it fills a gap where there needs to be some hard music versus all the softy indie shit I've been listening to lately. Well, it's not shit. It's chocolate pudding, isn't it?

For the playlist this week, have a listen to:

1. Hands On Fire - The Stills - Oceans Will Rise 2008
2. Snow In California - The Stills - Oceans Will Rise 2008
3. A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine - Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Seperation 2008
4. Emergency Broadcast: The End Is Near - Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Seperation 2008
5. Burning Down The House - The Talking Heads - The Best Of, Remastered 2009

Why is that last one in there? Well you know, it was 2/25 and I picked it up because let's face it: The Talking Heads are freaking fun to listen to.

I know it's been a while since I made a tape. Maybe I should make myself one for my birthday (or maybe one of you should make one for me).