Music Geek: Hunting for records an essential part of musical journey
See, I can look classy every now and again.
When I search for records, it’s not an easy process. I often find myself inundated with those pesky round things — be they CDs or vinyl — as I flip through album after album. It’s not always particularly easy to find exactly what you want, supposing, of course, there is something in particular you’re interested in finding. It’s often the case that I’ll search shelves with no specific end, only the means: Exploration and search.
I’m under the impression that this is an essential part of my “musical journey” — a nebulous term I’ll adapt for use under a number of different circumstances with varying success. Half the fun of getting a record is looking for it, flipping through racks and racks of music, and finding that one specific item you’re willing to drop your cash on — or that stack of records you really, really don’t need right now. (more…)
By Matthew Montgomery 
Mar 14, 2010 
"Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Record Stores at the Crossroads 
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Music Geek: Record stores at crossroads, but there’s time to recover
See, I can look classy every now and again.
My first stop, Circles Records & Tapes was one which I’d recently discovered was either closing or had already closed. To my delight, I found it to have not yet closed, and a large advert touting their 50-percent-off liquidation sale made the whole thing all the more tantalizing. It was, then, a bit unfortunate to discover that the store was very much into the process of closing its doors, and the merchandise being liquidated included a few miscellaneous albums on vinyl — nothing of real note, excepting one of the many Brian Eno collaboration projects — and a slew of very cheap, obscure, and low-quality CD releases. It was no real pain to walk from the store empty handed, as I’d already assumed it had closed for good, and my plans were primarily to visit a store a few blocks away, Revolver Records. Anything I would have picked up at a Circles would have been merely a happy accident.
Tags: Phoenix
By Matthew Montgomery Mar 13, 2010 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Record Stores at the Crossroads, Regional MusicGeek Comments (0)
Music Geek: Woody Allen’s Manhattan and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” combine for engaging musical perspective
That famed, prolific director Woody Allen — the auteur behind greats like Annie Hall, Interiors, and, of course, the subject at hand, 1979′s Manhattan, the three of which were released over a three-year period from 1977 to 1979 — has always displayed a penchant for musical ingenuity.
So when the black-and-white, self-affirming Manhattan opens with George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a musical masterpiece said by some to be a portrait or tribute to New York City, we aren’t really surprised. When Allen, with his wry wit and self-deprecating demeanor, juxtapositions his opening narration, a stop-start, neurotic monologue serving as the opening to the equally neurotic Isaac Davis, even obliquely mentioning Gershwin, we’re given a distinct image of the film to come.
By Matthew Montgomery Feb 19, 2010 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, MovieGeek, Music and Film Comments (0)
Music Geek: The Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion”
See, I can look classy every now and again.
Whilst listening to the latest episode of All Songs Considered from NPR — it’s on the decade defined — The Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion,” from the group’s seminal 2004 full-length debut Funeral, imparted upon me a certain unusual zeal; it is a sort of zeal, I find, that is only imparted by the occasional realization of a song’s power and the inner workings behind such power. Radiohead’s “A Wolf at the Door,” most recently, hit me the same way; for weeks, I diagrammed the structural intricacies in an attempt to understand why, exactly, the song just… worked. (more…)
By Matthew Montgomery Nov 11, 2009 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Track Reviews Comments (0)
Music Geek #17: Radiohead, Thom Yorke release strategy indicative of creative shift?
Radiohead, the album band — you know, the one that hit it big with a single, then turned around and crafted some of the greatest albums of the modern era? The range of responses to questions in the vein of, “Do you like… Radiohead?” comprise two distinct types of answer: “[Insert post-Pablo Honey-album-title here] was fucking great,” on one hand, and “I love Creep!” on the other. It happens.
But the album-oriented Radiohead may have gone by the wayside a bit, and it seems they’ve got Thom Yorke in tow. Here’s a quick timeline, if you’ve missed it somehow:
5 August 2009: Radiohead release “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)”
17 August 2009: Radiohead release “These Are My Twisted Words”
21 September 2009: Thom Yorke releases double A-side single, “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses / The Hollow Earth” [Stereogum]
By Matthew Montgomery Sep 20, 2009 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comments (0)
Music Geek #16: 10 years of Agaetis Byrjun
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
While I can’t say I’ve been listening to Sigur Ros for ten years (I’m only 23, after all,) the anniversary of Agaetis Byrjun still holds a notable impact in my development of musical tastes. When I first heard this album, I was an impressionable 15-years old and only beginning to realize the breadth and depth of music at my digital fingertips (ah, a pun!)
It introduced me to a world of post-rock and soaring, dynamic soundscapes — and though I wasn’t necessarily unfamiliar with the latter, the Icelandic outfit took it to a logical extreme I hadn’t yet witnessed. This, I thought, was music that made me feel emotional, excited, happy, sad; truthfully, the state of emotion didn’t much make a difference, but the magnitude. As a happy teen listening to Agaetis Byrjun, the album took on a bright, shimmery light; as an occasionally angst-ridden 16-year-old, the album came in a more sad, depressed form. As a teen who avoided some of the emotional highs and lows of his peers (though I wasn’t without fault, by any means) Sigur Ros gave me something to feel when I didn’t want to worry about feeling other things. (more…)
Tags: experimental, post-rock
By Matthew Montgomery Jun 13, 2009 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comments (2)
Music Geek #15: Music as Emotional Memory
In dealings with my friends and colleagues, I have noticed, as have many, many others, an undeniable commonality. Of course, this is not to say this does not apply to all people, but I’ll qualify my statement, as I haven’t really done further research on the matter.
It seems the large majority of people with which I have regular conversation are inclined to form connections to music as a method of reliving emotion. I suppose I sympathise with the notion: Music, I’d argue, is a much more powerful creation than simple words. It resonates (quite literally) through us in ways undeniable, whether they are cultural, personal, or innately human. I’m inclined to think it may be the latter, but this is another topic for another day. (more…)
By Matthew Montgomery Jun 07, 2009 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comments (0)
Music Geek #14: Success as Failure
In reading an interview with once-internet-sensation Tay Zonday by Broken Cool, it becomes evident the outlook “the ‘Chocolate Rain’ guy” has about popular music is by no means one major labels — nor the artists on them — want you to hear. He embodies an almost embroiled bitterness toward mainstream media (or, perhaps, media altogether) and the Western notion of success.
“Success Level” is a fairytale invented to give journalists something to print by each deadline. It allows readers to vicariously live a celebrity soap opera about who makes it and who doesn’t. It turns the world into comic fiction that has nothing to do with music or life.
By Matthew Montgomery Jun 06, 2009 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comments (0)
