http://nigelwarren.com Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:59:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2010/02/on-the-ipad-as-the-future/ http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2010/02/on-the-ipad-as-the-future/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:59:12 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=912 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2010/02/on-the-ipad-as-the-future/feed/ 1 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/11/thoughts-on-chromeos/ http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/11/thoughts-on-chromeos/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:39:53 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=896 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/11/thoughts-on-chromeos/feed/ 2 http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/05/m-ward-stars-of-leo/ http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/05/m-ward-stars-of-leo/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 18:11:17 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=861 Album: Hold Time
Year: 2009

And speaking of workout music, how awesome is this track?

M. Ward? Workout music? I know, it doesn't seem to match up, especially when his usual soft strumming and cracked voice drifts over the speaker. But wait until the energetic handclap backing comes in. This spring, when I first discovered I could run more than a couple miles and actually enjoy it, this song was on repeat on my headphones, propelling me down the East River, over the Manhattan bridge into Brooklyn, then back over the Brooklyn bridge while I dodged tourists wandering into the run/bike lane.]]> http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/05/m-ward-stars-of-leo/feed/ 0 http://nigelwarren.com/photos/2009/05/ode-to-a-friend/ http://nigelwarren.com/photos/2009/05/ode-to-a-friend/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 04:29:40 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=871 ]]> http://nigelwarren.com/photos/2009/05/ode-to-a-friend/feed/ 3 http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/05/the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart-young-adult-friction/ http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/05/the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart-young-adult-friction/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 04:02:39 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=856 Album: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Year: 2009

Despite sounding exactly like what they are, i.e. Brooklyn hipster music, this band reminds me of Belle & Sebastian. I'm not sure why; it may be Kip Berman's voice. This track was on my workout mix for quite a while. Again, I'm not sure why; it may have been the driving drum + "don't check me out" chant at the end.]]> http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/05/the-pains-of-being-pure-at-heart-young-adult-friction/feed/ 1 http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/spiritualized-sweet-talk/ http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/spiritualized-sweet-talk/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:39:27 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=849 Album: Songs in A&E
Year: 2008

A work friend turned me onto this album from last year. It was his description that intrigued me:

"'Songs in A&E' does not refer to the keys of the songs themselves; rather, Jason Pierce (the man behind the band) nearly died several years ago, and this album is about his time in the accident and emergency ward of the hospital. These songs about life and death take on new meaning in that context."

Certainly "Death Take Your Fiddle", with a ventilator serving as the backing, is plenty haunting once you learn the background of the album. This track, all gradual build and swelling crescendos, serves as a nice counterpart to the raucous-to-quiet structure of the last track.]]> http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/spiritualized-sweet-talk/feed/ 0 http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/roman-candle-early-aubade/ http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/roman-candle-early-aubade/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:07:16 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=839 Album: Oh, Tall Tree in the Ear
Year: 2009

Roman Candle's forthcoming release looks set to continue what the North Carolina-based band started with The Wee Hours Revue back in 2006. What exactly did they start? I'm glad you asked, as their debut album was overlooked for some unknown reason, despite being packed with plenty of strong singles. You could do worse than listening to "Something Left to Say", or "New York This Morning".

This song's tale of taking down, packing up, and moving out is matched by its deconstructionist progression. Check it out, then check out the full album after its May 12th release.]]> http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/roman-candle-early-aubade/feed/ 0 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/04/summer-arrives/ http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/04/summer-arrives/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:55:03 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=843 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/04/summer-arrives/feed/ 2 http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/camera-obscura-swans/ http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/camera-obscura-swans/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:13:44 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=835 Camera Obscura
Album: My Maudlin Career
Year: 2009

Similar to much of the excellent music coming out of Scotland recently, Camera Obscura mixes upbeat music with lyrics exploring the sharp jutting angles and dark corners of relationship failure. Although their specific style is markedly different to, say, Frightened Rabbit, the happy/sad dichotomy is just as effective. Taking cues from '60s doo-wop, and with lead singer Tracyanne Campbell's trademark lilting voice, the forthcoming "My Maudlin Career" is a solid improvement on 2006's "Let's Get Out of This Country".

"James he came to the door, wanting to know for sure why love gets up and goes", she sings on "James". Elsewhere, against a backdrop of one of the sunniest, most cheerful melodies this side of Jamaican roots reggae, she laments "I've been spending half a year in a plane going up and down / and you've been seeing other people from a nearby town / being obsessive and getting depressed about us", before detailing her failing struggle to build walls: "I'm in training to become as cold as ice / I'm determined to protect my feelings".]]> http://nigelwarren.com/music/2009/04/camera-obscura-swans/feed/ 0 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/04/alone/ http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/04/alone/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:39:43 +0000 Nigel http://nigelwarren.com/?p=831 http://nigelwarren.com/blog/2009/04/alone/feed/ 1