MusicGeek #13: What I’ve Missed
Over the past year, music, while not having fallen to the wayside, has taken a bit of a backseat in my life for reasons I don’t quite comprehend yet. It’s not as if I’d really listened to less music, but my yearning and urge to discover new, interesting music dropped considerably, which, as a result, also saw fewer updates to this site I update only vaguely anyhow.
Perhaps it’s hearing a few new albums that get me excited about new music being released that’s done the trick. In the last week, I’ve made more of an effort to hear new music than in the past six months, which, I must say, is a bit of a shame. Here’s a short list of a few albums that I’ve been listening to recently — perhaps reviews will come soon.
Charles Spearin — Happiness
Phoenix — Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice — Moon Colony Bloodbath
Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest
The Rural Alberta Advantage — Hometowns
Leaves — We Are Shadows
Maybe all I needed was something to be excited about again, but after an unnecessary hiatus, I’m ready to write again.
By Matthew Montgomery 
Jun 06, 2009 
"Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery 
Comments (0)
Music Geek #12: Subscribe with Google Reader, please
Five of you subscribe to MusicGeek.org with Google Reader. One of you is me.
So, let me revise that: Four of you subscribe to MusicGeek.org with Google Reader. Thank you. More of you regular readers should subscribe to this site with some sort of RSS feed reader if you don’t already.
Now, I know you probably want to visit the site to view our lovely ads (which, by the way, make me little to no money — I’m quite certainly not profiting financially from running this site,) but I urge you to subscribe anyway. The formatting might not be quite as nice, but if you read through the brief bit of post and are interested in reading more, it’s a short process to click and read the rest. (more…)
Tags: google
By Matthew Montgomery Sep 10, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comments (0)
Music Geek #11: Post-rock: reproducing in the back seat since the ’90s
From the chart attached — from VerySmallArray.com, a wonderful little site of charts and graphics and things by Dorothy Gambrell, creator of my favorite web comic, Cat and Girl — it’s clear that instrumental music is not very popular right now. If that wasn’t painfully obvious, though, I’m not sure what was. Sadly, not much post-rock hits the #1 spot on the charts, much to my bemusement. I’d rather like the music I enjoy to be enjoyed by many, many people!
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – “Dead Flag Blues (Intro)” | download (via official site)
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I suppose I recognize that people are generally interested in music that’s catchy, especially lyrically and vocally. It’s rather hard to sing along with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, let alone Tortoise — this, I admit. And, if I’ve learned anything from people, it’s that they really, really like to sing along to things, for better or worse. (more…)
Tags: instrumental, post-rock
By Matthew Montgomery Sep 08, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Downloads Comments (0)
Music Geek #10: Broken Social Scene in Salt Lake City
Let’s get one thing straight. I love Broken Social Scene with a passion I reserve mostly for things other than music — you know, food, water, the like — and a chance to see them perform a mere four(!) hours away, in Salt Lake City, Utah was something I didn’t care to pass up. After learning of the concert via an IRC friend (I call this Music Geek for a reason, after all) I set out to find a way, rain or shine, money or, well, broke.
Read after the jump for video of Broken Social Scene at Lollapalooza 2008.
Tags: indie rock
By Matthew Montgomery Aug 26, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Live Reviews, Video Comments (2)
Music Geek #9: Pre-mature expectation of spring cues mixtape musings
As winter slowly phases out of season here in southern Utah, I’m drawn to the shocking realization that spring will soon be taking its place (as it does every year.) This, I suppose, isn’t actually shocking, but I am quite excited. What does this mean for me?
Well, for one, I’ll be able to go outside and take photos again. I suppose there was nothing stopping me, but I am a bit of a “wuss,” if you will, and am not terribly interested in having my hands freeze off. Can you blame me?
For two — and why don’t we ever say that? — it allows me to create a new playlist devoted to my regular walks from home to university and back! Now, I haven’t created one for winter, but I have realized that I often listen to the same styles of music when walking along snow-strewn sidewalks in the biting cold. So, rather than just trying to find styles that match these foreign weather patterns and attempting to conform to them a set of music, I’ll take it one step further.
I’ll make a mixtape!
Tags: mixtapes
By Matthew Montgomery Feb 25, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comment (1)
Music Geek #8: Love is… Spiritualized?
Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t know what “love” actually means. It’s a terribly abstract thing, and we’ve been taught that it’s some mystical, valuable emotion we should all strive for. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t — but I think I have a vague (and when I say vague, I mean vague) idea of what it is. I’ve certainly felt strong connections before, and if that’s what this is, then perhaps I can affirm some things.
Whatever the case, I love music. Sure, I will confess to ignorance of what love really is (chemical reactions! but isn’t everything? We can break down everything to chemical reactions in mental workings, but it doesn’t bring us any closer to understanding or predicting human action,) but I will likewise profess to be a lover of music.
By Matthew Montgomery Feb 14, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Video Comments (0)
Music Geek #7: Chiptune — Is there anything better?
Editor’s Note: The track previously included in this post was not written or recorded by Brandon Harrod of Laromlab, who has recently come forward and admitted to having essentially stolen the tracks and called them his own. More information is available at www.mushpotrecords.com.
That’s a brave question, isn’t it? I thought so. So often my questions are lacking in, well, braveness, so I thought I might give it a try. Still, I’m not sure how brave it really is, though, as it is still a question and not a bold statement. After all, I’m willing to admit some wrong in this.
Anyhow, I’ve been venturing into electronic music lately, as it has been something I’m woefully under-educated in. My good friend Derek, a veteran (of sorts) of electronic music, has been instrumental in this, and perhaps we might call him the catalyst. At any rate, It’s happened.
Tags: chiptune, electronic
By Matthew Montgomery Feb 10, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery, Artist Spotlight, Downloads Comments (0)
Music Geek #6: Appearance of “Superfriend” serves as a nice Weezer refresher
It was in 2001 — six-and-a-half years ago — that I first heard tale of Weezer’s mysterious opus, Songs From the Black Hole, a project that frontman Rivers Cuomo had spoken of very little and much hype had arisen behind as a result.
It’s 2008 now, and still, there are several songs from the never-finished concept album that have yet to see the light of day. One of those, until sometime in the range of one month ago, was “Superfriend,” a track that had gained some notoriety on Weezer fan message boards, particularly the Rebel Weezer Board and the Rivers Correspondence Board, which I read voraciously but kept my posting to a minimum, for better or worse.
At any rate, the track quickly became a thing of legend, with only a very select few having actually heard it — and the track certainly wasn’t floating around the mass of information that is the Internet (or bootleg trading circles, for that matter) for easy listening purposes.
Tags: pop-rock, unreleased
By Matthew Montgomery Jan 31, 2008 "Music Geek" by Matthew Montgomery Comments (0)
