My apologies for how slow the blog has been lately. I’ve been sick with a horrible
sinus infection for the last month. I saw an ENT on wednesday, and with massive doses of antibiotics and steroids, I’m finally on the mend, so hopefully things
will get back to normal soon.
- Marillion, “Thunder Fly”: For those of us who pre-ordered Marillion’s upcoming album, they just made mediocre-quality prerelease copies available for download. Overall, I’m very happy with it. It’s quite good; I can’t wait to listen to it in its high-quality CD form. This is a fun track; it’s got a nice bounce
to it, but also has some of those wonderful Marillion transitions. It’s a vast improvement over anything from their last album. - Explosions in the Sky, “Yasmin the Light”: some Mogwai style post rock. Explosions is one of my favorites of this style of post-rock. This is very typical of them – really excellent.
- Motionless, “United States of Amnesia”: another post-rock band,
whose style is a lot like Mogwai. Not quite as good as “Explosions in the Sky”,
but still very good. - Red Sparowes, “Buildings Begin to Stretch Wide”: even more post-reck. Yes, I do love my post-rock. The Red Sparowes have a louder, harder sound. Much less derivative of Mogwai than the last two bands. The Red Sparowes are a favorite of mine. In fact, for people who haven’t listened to any post-rock before, the two things I recommend are Red Sparrowes, and “Godspeed You Black Emperor”.
- The Klezmatics, “In Kamf”: The first time I ever seriously listened to Klezmer was back in college. I was really involved in Hillel (a campus Jewish organization), and we sponsored a concert by a NY klezmer band called the Klezmaniacs. Two of the members of the Klezmaniacs are also members of the Klezmatics; this album is the first klezmer album I ever bought. This isn’t one of my favorite songs on it; I prefer the dance music.
- Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, “Goodbye Desolate Railyard”: Yet more post-rock; one of the sillier names that “A Silver Mt. Zion” has used. In
general, I really like ASMZ, but the leader’s voice is awful, and this track has a strong vocal lead. So it’s just an eh. In general, I love this album, just not
this track. - David Sylvian and Robert Fripp, “The First Day”: this is one of my overall favorite albums. I love just about everything Fripp has ever done. Sylvian is excellent, except that he’s sometimes lacking in energy. The two of them together are absolutely stunning. Everything on this album is pure brilliance.
- Victor Wooten, “Happy Song”: a very appropriately named song. Vic Wooten is the bass player from the Flecktones, and he’s an incredible master
of the electric bass. The guy is up there with folks like Jaco Pastorius in
his skill at the bass. This is a catchy, bouncy, happy little song which has some really stunning bass work going on in the back. It’s not a style of music that I’m wild about, but it’s worth it to hear that kind of ass-kicking bass. Once it gets past the intro, into the middle of the song, it’s just dazzling. The first time
I heard this, I was in the car with my wife, and they were playing it on NPR. I was listening, saying “I gotta find out who this is, they’re amazing. The style sounds a lot like Vic Wooten, but I don’t think he’s quite that good”. And then the song finishes, and they start talking to him, and it’s Vic. - Metaphor, “When it All Comes Together”: Metaphor is a great, unknown neo-progressive band. This is very typical of their sound. You can get their stuff online from bitmunk, which is one of my favorite places for buying music.
- Tony Levin, “What Would Jimi Do?”: a wonderful track from another
bass genius. In a wonderful takeoff from the garbage being spewed by christian loonies, the song is about asking “What would Jimi Do?”
I’ve held back on the Marillion “free download”, taking advantage of the anticipation to satisfy a Mike Oldfield craving since the domestic release of Music of the Spheres (listening to every album, in order; I’m up to the excellent Amarok right now). I hope to just wait it out for my pre-order to arrive. I do like the title track of the last album, but yeah, many of the others are, well, ‘eh.
I kept hoping they’d grow on me upon hearing live versions, as had Fantasic Place, Angelina, and most of Anoraknophobia, but it just didn’t gel with me.
Thanks for the recommendation of Fripp/Sylvian. I’d been holding back on some of his non-crim/non-solo albums (not being all that big a fan of Fripp/Eno releases – good but I generally prefer Fripp’s solo soundscaping or the ProjeKcts), but I’ll give sound samples of F/S a listen sometime soon.
Always good to see another Red Sparowes fan. Do yourself a favor and go see ’em live if you get the chance, they will blow you away.
I’m gonna go check out Motionless now…
See, now, I think “In Kampf” is a great song. It’s right in the tradition of what I grew up with. And the Klezmatics do a wonderful sort of Kurt Weill-type setting of it. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album.
This is not meant to diagnose, prognose, prescribe, treat, or perform any other duties of a licensed medical doctor. It is informational only.
Consult with your physician: 500 mg/day for 3 days of azithromycin oral on an empty stomach with 8 oz. water. NOT if you react to erythromycin. Other contradindications, too.
The stuff is majorly miraculous for three reasons: First, 68-hr half-life. Second, carried in white blood cells. When they attack a pathogen local concentrations can exceed body concentration by 60X. Third, unless you are sensitive to erythromycin it is mostly harmless. Clindamycin will turn you inside-out (but quite good on anaerobes).
The FDA recommended azithromycin dosage schedule of 500, 250, 250, 250, 250 mg each consecutive day is clinically inferior. Europe has it right.
How are your inner ears? Inflated sinuses can inflict intense vertigo and nystagmus. Break barf to beat the band! If you feel a furry little knot at the base of your throat, swallow – it’s the other end of your alimentary canal.
Uncle Al:
Last wednesday, I saw an ENT from the teaching faculty and Mount Sinai in NYC, so I’m not seeing a bozo :-).
He gave me avelox – the main reason being that it reaches high concentrations in the sinus mucus. That’s a good thing 🙂 It’s also fairly low on the side-effect and drug reaction spectrum.
Things do seem to be on the upswing. It’s definitely slow,
given that I’ve been sick for so long, but that’s why I’m on a large dose of the stuff for two weeks.
The thing that actually gives the best relief is not medication at all. It’s basically a water-pik fitted with a nozzle that you stick up your nose. Rinsing a couple of times a day with salt water washes out a hell of a lot of stuff – especially after I started taking the prednisone.
I find it rather humorous in its way… The best advice that I’ve gotten for my chronic sinus problems is to use the most primitive cure. I’ve had four different doctors recommend the nasal wash to me – two allergists, two ENTs. And all four recommended mixing in an “herbal” remedy which has been on the market since 1890!! (It’s called alkalol – it’s basically saline with some herbs to make it soothing.) But there’s something really funny about going to a doctor, being examined with a piece of computerized fiber-optic imaging gear, and then being told to buy a 120 year old medical product!)
I also recommend Red Sparowes or GY!BE, but I also normally recommend Mogwai or Russian Circles. I have been reading your blog for a while, but always used to skip these posts. Glad I didn’t this time. Great to see other Post-Rock listeners who aren’t pretentious art students.
I’m a huge post-rock/metalgaze/other made-up genre fan, too. I managed to see Red Sparowes live while Trevor from Pelican was filling in for the guy from Isis.
I’ve got a huge collection of post-rock and related stuff, so if you’re ever l;ooking for recommendations, hit me up 🙂 (Grails has a bunch of new stuff out or out soon, so does Red Sparowes, Mogwai, and a handful of others)
Following these posts, I think we’ve got a wide breadth of music taste in common (as well as the sinusitis).
http://www.neilmed.com/usa/products.php
another set of rattles and beads
One might warm the irrigating solution to near body temp lest a particulary sadistic NASA “procedure” be reinacted.
http://hearingloss.blogspot.com/2004/12/so-i-said-to-my-close-personal-friend.html
Heavy air pollution might be an answer. NOx is antibacterial. Your sinuses emit it to a ppm or so,
http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/full/128/3/1699
Best wishes! 17th century William Harvey could reduce a fracture. In the 21st century good business practice abundantly treats but cannot cure.