Monday, June 29, 2009

Denver Pride


Last weekend I volunteered at Pridefest for the Maxfund Animal Shelter in Denver. It was a great experience. A friend had told me that the parade was the best in the city and I could not agree more. It was refreshing to be at the parade and see everyone having a good time. It did not matter whether you were gay or straight, it was about celebrating being comfortable with yourself and not making any apologies. When I got home, I realized that this is one of the few times in my life I have ever really felt civic pride without celebrating the victory of a local sport's team. My only real regret is not taking any pictures. The only one I have to post is of the dog, Milli, who kept me company at the Maxfund booth.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Musical Memories

One of the things I enjoy most about music is the way it can evoke vivid memories. I hate to quote Dick Clark but he was right when he said, "music is the soundtrack of our lives." I remember Hammer Time and Kris Cross. I remember being in junior high and listening to Green Day "Dookie" for the first time and being blown away. I remember the late nights driving around in high school listening to the Get Up Kids and Elliott Smith. There is plenty of other music nostalgia rolling around my head. It is funny how even songs and bands that you despise can get rooted into your memories.

One of my roommates in college absolutely adored top 40 pop music which still to this day I cannot comprehend. The year was 2004 so I must have heard the Maroon 5 song "This Love" a million times. I absolutely abhor everything about Maroon 5. It mostly just annoyed me that they dressed like a quintessential indie band. This was also about the time a began dating my wife. It must have been our second or third date and I could not stop humming that song. Any free moment or lull in the conversation and I would be mumbling "this love has taken control of me." The song is so catchy, it is impossible not to get it stuck in your head (I bet you are humming it right now). For better or worse, whenever I hear that song I cannot help but think about my fantastic wife. I love my wife, I just wish we had a cooler song.

Music like many other things in life can humble you. Something life changing happens and rather than the jukebox in your head cueing up Oasis you are stuck with "Complicated" by Avril Lavenge. At this point all you can do is smile, that songs is going to be there for a while.

James - Maxfund Dog of the Week


I am huge supporter of the Maxfund Animal Shelter in Denver. They are an amazing shelter. Every Friday I will post an animal that is looking for a new home. I do this because I care and I need to buy myself some time to write content. Enjoy

Name: James
Gender: Male
Color: Multi/Mix
Fur Length: Medium
Activity Level: Unknown at this time
Status: Ready for Adoption

To learn more about James or other great animals at The Maxfund Animal Shelter please click here.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Pete Yorn Back and Forth


The new Pete Yorn album Back and Forth was released yesterday 6/24. I have only previewed it on Pete Yorn's Myspace page. To be totally honest, it is fantastic that Pete Yorn has found a way to be a digital pioneer with his music. He has always been good about posting new material. If you have not heard his album yet, he posted the entire thing on Myspace so fans could check it out. This is way better than trying to sample it on Itunes. Personally, I like to sample everything before I buy it at a number of independent record stores. You know those super cool places that were around before large box stores existed.

Sidebar: Please support your local independent record stores. They are quintessential to the music experience. Most of them will allow you to sample before you buy and have an incredibly knowledgeable staff. To locate independent record stores across the country click here.

Upon first listen Back and Forth sounds good. It does not sound as overproduced as Nightcrawler. To give a full review, I will need to listen to it a bit more. I simply wanted to tip my hat to Pete Yorn for being so cool and allowing fans to check out Back and Forth for free.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Save Us Sufjan!



In sticking on the topic of new material, it would be great if Sufjan Stevens put out a new album. His most recent releases are Illinoise (2005) and Songs for Christmas (2006). This was originally going to be a post about 5 bands that needed new albums but then I realized a couple of the bands I was going to post are working on new material, Pete Yorn (realease date 6/23/09) and Death Cab for Cutie. It also does not seem fair to include bands that may or may not be broken up (Ambulance LTD.) or singers that have died (Elliott Smith). With that I come full circle back to Sufjan. He is a fantastic singer songwriter and I think it is safe to say that his fans could use another LP.

Sufjan Stevens

Pete Yorn

Death Cab for Cutie

Ambulance LTD.

Elliott Smith

Saturday, June 20, 2009

To the Patient go the Spoils

There are many things that annoy me about the music industry. The lag time between albums is the one that truly irritates me most. I realize that there is a business strategy behind it where their needs to be time to market, promote and tour the new material but why should fans have to wait 2-3 years for new material? The digital revolution should allow music to get out there quicker. Why not let artists upload new songs as they are recorded and the sell the songs online?

The overwhelming evidence points to larger record labels being the problem. Check out the data below.

Below are the number of albums released by The Who, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan between 1965 - 1975

Rolling Stones - 17
The Who - 11
Bob Dylan - 13

Now think, how many of your favorite artists today have put out even 7-8 albums over a 10 year period. One of my favorite bands Pearl Jam has 8 studio albums but that is over 18 years. I realize that most of the major labels only care about the money but it kills me knowing that I am going to have to wait 2-3 years after I hear a great new album.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Shoe Shopping at Yellowstone

The other day I was at the mall and noticed my NBies were a bit thin in the sole. I have been wearing my current pair since January. They tend to last me a full calendar year but I had worn these ones a bit more. I expected shoe shopping was on the horizon. I am going to spare you the long predictable speech about how I am a man so I never shop. I will leave it at this, I enjoy wearing new clothing but would would prefer to be mauled by a bear than go shopping. It is not so much the mall or the people but me (I will save my shopping trends for another post.)

I was dumbfounded. I went through 3 or 4 shoe stores and could not find any Classic New Balance shoes. 3 to 4 years ago they were very easy to find. They were trendy. It dawned on me that I do not see as many of them in general population these days. Not being trendy is nothing new. Up until age 12 I wore tight sweatpants and stripped tube socks. Combine the sweats and socks with a pair of thick blue plastic glasses and you have the makings of a fashion icon. With my beloved shoes' trendiness factor wearing off, I am going to have to search harder for my new best friends. I should have seen this coming. New Balances go with a lot of things but they just do not look right with the super tight uber ugly hipster garb. I guess I am going to be making more trips to the mall. On second thought, maybe I will just throw on my old sweats, grab a PBR and make some new friends at Jellystone Park.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Maxfund Dog of the Week


I am huge supporter of the Maxfund Animal Shelter in Denver. They are an amazing shelter. Every Friday I will post an animal that is looking for a new home. I do this because I care and I need to buy myself some time to write content. Enjoy

Name: Chef
Gender: Male
Color: Multi/Mix
Fur Length: Medium
Activity Level: Unknown at this time
Status: Ready for Adoption

He has been at the shelter since 2004 and is a fantastic dog. He has some trust issues. Check out Chef or any of the other great shelter animals at here.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line



There have been very few bands that have impressed me lately in the musical landscape. In an effort to avoid sounding like a music snob, I partly blame myself. My styles have changed and I am not as obsessed with music as I once was. Still, there is a side of me that blames the artists, media and record labels for stealing a little bit of thunder from something I once cherished.

When a friend advised me to give a listen to The Rhumb Line by Ra Ra Riot, I did not have high expectations. The band pleasantly surprised me. The best way to describe this album is fantastic. Ra Ra Riot's sound is crisp and energizing. There are very few pop/rock (I hate classification) bands that utilize a cello and violin in their music. The added instruments give their music a very dense feel without sounding overproduced. It is refreshing to hear a band that does not simply blend into the background like so many others do.

http://www.rarariot.com/

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Welcome


Welcome to One-way Fare. A blog about music, life and New Balance. What exactly does that mean? When examining my nearly thirty years of life, I realized that by far the two most consistent things have been music and New Balance shoes. I have always categorized myself as a noncommittal person. My job, friends, location and pretty much everything else has changed over the years. The way I see the world has changed but what I see it in has not. My New Balance shoes have been like old friends, reliable and comfortable (shameless plug). I promise this blog is not all about shoes.

This blog is about life. I will try to keep it mostly about music. That should be pretty easy, music plays a significant role in my life. I am not a musician but music has definitely shaped me. There is no promise that this blog will not sometimes veer off course, hence the inclusion of Life in the tag line. I will try to stay on topic and be as brief as possible with my posts. There is no reason that someone should have to suffer through a Wiki like read. Thanks for stopping by to read. I hope if nothing else this has made the the last 2-3 minutes of your life a little more enjoyable.