Saturday, October 25, 2008

A Few Things Burning-up my iTunes Lately

I say "burning up," but they are pretty mellow. This here first group is Mates of State. I hate to admit this but I'm sort of a grumpy old man when it comes to new artists. I am horribly picky about new artists and I think I'm probably 10 times more of a critic than I am a should be. Besides being a novelist, being a critic would be a dream job. It can be to a fault, as it takes me too long to warm up to new artists. (Part of being OCD.) You wouldn't believe how long it took me to warm up to some ground-breaking artists. I'm still not warmed-up to John Mayer. Probably because when Amber and I went to see him and Ben Folds (took me almost year to warm up to Ben!) it was like a Cougar convention. Middle-aged women drinking margaritas from plastic cups and yelling at Mayer to take his shirt off. Gagalicious. That being said, I heard Mates of State on the Conan O'brien Show the other night and really liked them. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I really like the way a guy and girl sound when they sing together... hmmm. So here is a recent new addition to my Itunes library. I like them and and I can't exactly put my finger on why, besides the obvious, and most-times, that's the most fun kind.

This duo needs no introduction. These are my two favorite living singers. Singing together. Sheesh. I would shave my head and talk fake Klingon for a week to see these guys in concert. I like this live version but you gotta hear the T-bone production from the record. When I first downloaded it, I think I listened to it a thousand times, over and over. But see, that's just me, and that's one of the many beauties of music. Some music hits some of us right at the right time in our lives and speaks just what we want or need to hear. Then we try to recommend it and we're surprised that no one feels quite the same. Anyways, here is my offering to the "listen-to-this!" pile.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like them too. I found them via a parenting blog, where they guest blog.... and then started reading their blog...

http://www.matesofstate.com/blog/

cool.

I have a hard time warming up to new-to my ears bands also, unless they really jump out at me.

majorsteve said...

Allison Krauss may be from Illinois or somewhere up north, but that sound is straight out of Austin, TX. Good music.

majorsteve said...

Allison Krauss may be from Illinois or somewhere up north, but that sound is straight out of Austin, TX. Good music.

Seth Ward said...

Kristin, thanks for the link! Very Cool.

Major, Yeah, I think it is Austin City Limits. I saw Allison in Branson and to this day, it as one of the top three concerts I've ever seen. Bluegrass is in my blood. But she's the Ella of bluegrass.

majorsteve said...

I wasn't talking about the venue where the concert was performed (Ausitn City Limits). The SOUND is pure Texas genre.

ps You seem to have some musical connection with Kentucky.

Anonymous said...

Geoff Steele (his family was-and some still are-at GBC) told me about a website noisetrade.com. They have a different concept going for new music promo. Another interesting thing... Geoff manages Remington's in Spfd. He brings in a lot of bands (Third Day, Jimmy Needham, ...)that I would love to go see if I still lived in town.

Seth Ward said...

Major, Yeah, I guess I can see the Texas sound... steel guitar... western swing-ish...

As far as Kentucky... its unintentional. Missouri and Oklahoma have some of the worlds biggest and best Bluegrass festivals and it was where I was introduced to the genre.

I've lived in Kentucky twice now, and I doubt I'll be back the third time, if I can help it. (No offense to the Kentuckian. Just not my state of preference. I'll always say that the the friendliest people I've ever met have been from Kentucky... just wasn't... for me.)

Way to rib me!

Seth Ward said...

Michelle, I'll check it out, thanks!

Becky said...

Seth, they're GREAT! Thanks for sharing.

Although I'm not a middle aged woman, John Mayer is still my favorite. (I agree with you, though - his concerts are ridiculous.) However, in an effort to warm you up a little more to Mayer, check this out.

http://www.youtube.com
watch?v=uNW8q-Ucz18

Seth Ward said...

Thanks Becky,

Actually, I think Mayer is pretty darn talented. I'm a big fan of the Father and Daughter song...

Most of my friends are in love with him and I imagine I'll come around someday. Someday when he's old and gray and I'll act like I just discovered something new and exciting.

His blues record was pretty gutsy, good stuff.

There were many other things about that concert that pee-oed me. Most of it was his 45 minute guitar solo when he has one of the best bands in the business that could have shared the spot light... just a little. Oh well, nobodies perfect. Like I said, grumpy old man alert!