Stuff I'm Really Digging Right Now: Pandora, MTB, KanYe, & Dexter

*Check this out; it's unbelievable.

First and foremost, if you've never heard of Minus the Bear, you really should check them out as soon as possible.  They're immaculate musicians, they sound like nothing else out there, and they put on a great show. Consequently, I've come to believe over the past few years that just about everyone would start liking MTB eventually, if only they gave the band a sincere chance. 

That being said, if you are already a fan of these guys, you may not even know that this little jewel exists.  They're only selling it at their upcoming shows, which is a bit of a shame.  This 7 song cdep, entitled Acoustics, is absolutely one of the sickest things I've heard in quite some time.

It begins with the only brand new song included, and it's fantastic.  The other 6 songs, which are, as the title implies, acoustic vesions of previously recorded tracks, would no doubt make this ep worthwhile on their own.  But the first track, entitled "Guns & Ammo" was clearly written to be performed acoustically;  it has an attitude and feel unlike anything the band has ever produced. According to my iTunes, I've listened to this song almost 20 times already, and 60% of the time, it rocks every time .  

According to this guy, the new versions of the older songs (1 from ultimate MTB album Highly Refined Pirates, 1 from Menos el Oso, and the remaining 4 from their most recent, Planet Of Ice) don't really offer anything new, but I disagree wholeheartedly.  It may be because Minus The Bear are one of my all-time favorite bands, but to me these acoustic reincarnations are not only completely satisfying on their own, they also somehow manage to refresh the original versions and help me to appreciate them even more.  In short, I simply cannot stop listening to this right now.

KanYe West (yeah, I think you're actually supposed to capitalize the "Y") has been one of my favorite hip-hop artists since he released his first album, College Dropout in 2004 (which, by the way, is still one of my favorite albums of all time).  He's never been the greatest lyricist, and the lack of flow in his rapping has been well-documented, but those two things have never been determining factors in whether or not I enjoy a hip-hop song.  West's two subsequent albums, Late Registration (2005) & Graduation (2007), were much more sophisticated efforts, and, like their predecessor, very successful both in terms of sales and critical acclaim. 

Honestly, though, I never found either of those two albums as rewarding as the simple pleasures offered by Dropout.  So my anticipation wasn't through the roof for his new release, 808s & Heartbreak.  Admittedly, this could probably be partly attributed to the lack of promotion and hype surrounding the December release, but, nonetheless, it's here, and I'm really enjoying it.  808s probably won't attain the critical or, for that matter, commercial success that Graduation or Registration did, but West has, at least for the time being, done away with the bells and whistles,  gotten back to basics, and produced a nice little album. 

Make no mistake about it, though;  this is not a return to KanYe's Dropout days.  808s contains very little actual rapping, and it's not even really a hip-hop record.  What it is, though, is a grower, which is something that I never really thought I'd say about a KanYe West album.  But this doesn't change the fact that the guy has some tremendous pop sensibilities, and he can produce a hook with the best of them.  There are some immediately catchy moments, like standout track "Welcome to Heartbreak" and "Love Lockdown".  There are even some really fun, upbeat moments, like "Paranoid", complete with 80s synthesizers, and "RoboCop" (this despite the fact that the album is supposedly inspired by the death of his mother and a broken engagement).  But slow burners like album opener "Say You Will" and "Street Lights" are a big part of what rounds this album out so nicely.  It's here that West has taken what I considered to be the weakest moments of his previous albums and turned them into a strength.  On top of that, there are only 11 tracks here, which is much more digestible to a person who was raised on the traditional rock record, such as myself.  All in all, there isn't really any fat to trim from this album.

Much has been made of the fact that KanYe sings more than anything else on this record, and that he does quite a bit of his singing through an auto-tuner.  To me, though, the bigger story is that this guy, despite knowing what his fans expected from him, just went out and made a record for himself.  And although he isn't the first artist to do so successfully (the names Jeremy Enigk and Andre Benjamin come to mind), it doesn't happen all the time, and I definitely think he deserves some positive attention for that.

By the way:  As I'm writing this, my daughter is sitting next to me quietly, seemingly content and happy to be listening to the aforementioned album.  Then again,  there's also a strong possibility she's just happy that her little chair is set to "vibrate".

Finally, if you don't know who Dexter Morgan is, I strongly suggest that you get familiar with him.  I don't claim to be an expert on everything that exists within the infinite galaxy of television, but if you can introduce me to a better program than Showtime's Dexter, I'll certainly thank you for it.  

I often find it difficult and intimidating to get into new tv shows, but with resources like this one, the process has become much less painful.  I started watching Dexter this summer while my wife was teaching swimming lessons, and by the end of the 4th episode I was absolutely fascinated with this show centered around a serial killer who preys on serial killers.  31 hour-long episodes later, and I'm counting the days until the season 3 finale.  

After spending most of my college years watching nothing but movies and sports-related television, I've discovered a seemingly endless catalogue of great programming, mostly as a result of the ease that comes with complete season dvd sets, DVRs, and the internet television revolution (Lost and 24 being two favorites in my house).  But all of those shows  have hit lulls from time to time - sometimes for an episode or two, and sometimes, as in the case of 24, for an entire season.  This just hasn't happened with Dexter, at least not for me.  Why? Simply put, I don't think this show can be pigeonholed.  It's super-smart, unpredictable, extremely funny, and completely original.  In fact, it's so good that CBS tried to broadcast it in prime time, despite the fact that it's loaded with profanity, violence, and nudity (sorry, it's not really a family show), and they actually got it done.  I'm still not sure how they managed to pull that off, or if they'll be broadcasting subsequent seasons, but I think their efforts speak volumes about how good the core ideas of this show actually are.  So go rent/buy it on dvd, order Showtime, or look it up on the internet.  You won't be disappointed.