My War

I like this. The Flaming Lips were due to not make one of the best records ever. It sort of feels like a B-side from Yoshimi, that they still had some energy left over, so they went and started noodling in the studio. Some beautiful songs, especially "The Sound of Failure." It’s not as demanding of your time as Yoshimi or The Soft Bulletin, but sometimes it’s nice to not be demanded.

I feel the same way about this record:



I listened to it five times in a row yesterday. Other records of his like The Shape of Jazz to Come or This is Our Music are great but I can only take them in small doses. Piercing, it reaches a part of your soul that you don’t always want reached. Tomorrow… is a bit more straight. Might be because Shelly Manne is on drums.

I’ve also been listening to this:



I know it’s not a popular opinion but I’m going to go out on a limb and say: Jimi Hendrix was a good guitar player.

I once went to a folk show in Boston. A drippy hippie got up on stage with her acoustic guitar and said, "People don’t talk about it much, but Bob Dylan is a really good lyricist." She then launched into "Blowin’ in the Wind."

I am full of opinions these days. Take two weeks off the blog and my opinions come back haywire.