misc.

[Slosh]

Been a while since I've participated here at all so I thought I'd throw this out there for what it's worth (not much).

Picked up the Lucinda Williams Live In Austin Tx DVD yesterday. This was taken from a Dec. '98 Austin City Limits show and surprisingly to no one fully ten of the sixteen songs are from Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. Excellent performance. Talk about a tight band, it sounds like they could easily record an entire studio album in one take. ACL does an exceptional job with their current series in high definition but this was recorded back when they were still doing standard definition broadcasts so the DVD is just 4:3 aspect ratio and the video quality isn't anything special (overly compressed, in fact). The main reason I grabbed this disc is because there is a DTS track. While the sonics are pretty decent whoever did the surround mix shouldn't be allowed back in the studio ever again. All they did was take the front channels and add them to the surrounds with summed mono in the center channel ala "5 channel stereo". Blech! There is a stereo track but it's Dolby Digital which is a poor format for music reproduction IMO. Luckily for me my DVD player allows me to take the DTS track and convert it to stereo PCM at the digital output and then let my pre/pro play it back in stereo or one of the DSPs. I think I'll convert this to a CD-R this weekend so I can listen to it in the car. All in all though I still think this DVD is worth buying, after all, it's the performance that matters the most and there isn't much to fault here. BTW, is it just me or does Lucinda look like Vyvyan's mom from The Young Ones? ("Well, what are mums for?" "I don't know. Having babies?")

I'm also three spins into Rogue Wave's new one, Descended Like Vultures. It's more fleshed out than their somewhat sparse (but very good) Out Of The Shadows album. Lots more synth and electric guitar this time around but still with their usual catchy hooks, making them sound more like their own band and not like some second-rate Shins. Good stuff.

Been spinning American Analog Set's latest a bunch too. At first I thought it sounded a little too much like their previous album but now I'm liking it more. The songs sound more finished here whereas some of their previous songs were more like song fragments and not completed works. If you haven't heard AmAnSet I'd say take one part Death Cab For Cutie, add a healthy serving of Pinback, and just a pinch of Yo La Tengo and there's your meal.

Hmmm, what else? Wolf Parade, Richmond Fountaine, Mountain Goats, The National, The Hold Steady, Eleventh Dream Day, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah . . .meh. All have their moments but I don't see myself picking up any of their other stuff any time soon. OTOH, Calexico/Iron & Wine In The Reins just keeps getting better and better. A must have for those about to twang