Adam King’s Blog

As much as these craft masters?

Death Cab is either the greatest band ever or the worst band ever to listen to when you’ve broken up with your girlfriend - switches on any given day.

Either way, I’ve noticed something about myself as of late. It seems to take utterly sad moments in my life to realize these things, but that’s why they call it life…  The thing is that they way I love music, and embrace it, and let it shape me - I realize I become that music. And I guess the same should be true of anything you feel true passion about - that when you fully accept it for what it is, there becomes no distinction between the flux of energy and audible molecules that compose that music and the flux of energy and molecules within yourself.

I noticed this at Phil Lesh’s acoustic set at Bonnaroo. Now I love the Dead, but it doesn’t encompass my life in the way it did in my teen years. But I was watching some older heads dancing near the front of the stage, watching them just ingesting the music through their pores - and I realized they’re not Deadheads or G.D. fans, those people themselves are The Grateful Dead. Not in the sense of “Oh, this music comes form the collective ether of all of us” but in the sense that they are the living, tangible, physical embodiment of that music. On some sort of spectral plane we can’t yet see, the same readings would come off them as come off of the music itself.

So I was realizing this in relation to myself, and my love of so much different kinds of music. And I realize that this sort of hidden goal in my life I always subconsiously strive for, is to become this embodiment of the music I love. That when I really love music, I am going to give my complete self back into this living force, and reciprocate the life it has breathed into me back into the music itself. And you know, it’s kinda like I’m using music to train my body how to really respond, and react to the world in the way life should be. I have very little filter on what I let affect me anymore - and sometimes it can be hard and painful. But at the same time it’s really a cycle of everything coming into me that I let shape myself - and it’s turned me into the sarcastic, uber-sensitive oddity of me.

So realize that. Know your role. Know that you are not just a listener, but a daily creator in the whole plane of universal existence. There’s no reason to be afraid when the walls fall down. You can still be very much yourself while living in a world of steady response.

Radiohead’s new video for “House of Card” can, for the moment, only be seen at http://code.google.com/radiohead. It’s filmed without any actual ‘video’ but rather uses some new Ferenghi lazer plotting spectrum deal. Just check it out already.

Ahhh, geeks are so f’n cool.

Here’s my quick take on the new Beck album, Modern Guilt. First off, it’s not what I expected. With Danger Mouse on board I had presumed it would be more akin to the funk-whackness side of Beck. Rather it falls more in the middle ground of his own career than anything ever has before. Kinda feels like if you took Odelay and Sea Change and mashed them hard into one another. Not mellow so much, but relaxed grooves. Consequently, no one track really stand out too much and in a way I think that’s the idea. After a few more listens, it will probably end up as my 3rd favorite Beck album. Definitely worth paying attention to though.

So just got the text-message drop from my ears out in Michigan and seems like this first-off fest is hitting hard. There were rumors of Phish reunions that are just totally ridiculous to think those guys would reunite for the first time for a bunch of young kids in Michigan. At a party in the woods last night, this guy was trying to swear to me that they came out on Thursday, sang the National Anthem and played a half-hour Reba. How do these rumors start for Christ’s sake? Anyway, definitely gonna watch Phil tonight on iClips - it’s streaming free. Here’s what My bud wrote when I asked him how the weekend was going:

“Hands down best festival ever for the scene.” “Super laid back but best set up ever inside. It’s and eye’s best friend.” “Dave Matthews dropped the bomb. Never really took him serious.”

Now for this guy to say that last line, shit really must be popping off.

…is friggin’ so beautifully amazing. I tried to put up they’re new video, but it’s got butts and boobs so YouTube only put up one with stills. To see the actual video you have to go to www.sigurros.com, then go to Media and click on the “Gobbledigook” video. It’s some raw,dog Iclenad realness for sure. Now this first cut is not representative of the whole album - things are commonly a lot slower and even a little more pop-sensitive developed. Either way, it’s amazing and if you’re a fan of the band, first listens will instill body-quivers.

A lot of people say they hear a strong Animal Collective feel on the new track, and there’s definitely some truth to that. Especially since Avey from A.C. is married to Kristen from mu’m, who’ve done a few tours opening for Sigur Ros. The difference between them though is while A.C. have songs that are built out of the weird and eerie, the Iceland crew builds their tunes from straight love. I know it sounds cheezy but it’s true.

I swear to God. I woke up the other morning, and realized MTV actually shows music videos still! Who friggin’ knew? Let alone that, but they had the latest from No Age, the new SubPop band I’ve been meaning to check out. Real thick for just drums and guitar. Here’s “Eraser”

Sometimes when you’re down, a good tune can really bring you up.

Here’s the latest music video (?!?) from Rose Hill Drive. Pretty lo-budget, but good none the less. New album comes out in a few weeks and hiopefully will propel these guys to the larger venues they deserve. They’ve got a bunch of upcoming dates opening for Govt Mule and they should steal those rockers’ hearts away. Hands down, the most legitimate rock and roll out there these days - Spin said it best a few weeks ago when they said RHD sounded like three young guys who didn’t realize rock continued to evolve after 1974.