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I was listening to Pink Floyd through Pandora today and thought it was time to finally start investing in their music. It’s a band I have always enjoyed and now is as good of a time as any. In an attempt to purchase through Amazon, the only option I now have available is to buy the CD. This is not what I wanted. Now I won’t buy it, the moment has passed. I don’t want to wait 5-7 days for a CD to ship to me and then rip it off to then put on my mp3 player. Sorry Pink Floyd, maybe I’ll pick your stuff up if I see it used at the local music store but not any time soon.

EDIT:

As of 2:52pm today Pink Floyd The Wall is still visible in the iTunes store, whether it’s downloadable or not I don’t know. I was only looking to pull it up through Amazon.

The Baltimore Sun covered a small tasting of opera at the Whole Foods in Baltimore’s Harbor East. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera performed in the produce section.

OK, let me preface this post by saying: I’ve never done an official music review and only consider my knowledge of music based on what I’ve listened to and bought.

With that said, I’ll continue.

Treadmill Trackstar is a band I was asked to review recently. I’ve not heard of them before so I figured I’d give it a shot, gives me something to write about. The band, to me, posses a strong potential to do great things. The use of a cello is a definite bonus as I love classical string instruments in a modern rock atmosphere. See Blue October as a prime example. Treadmill Trackstar’s latest album, I Belong To Me, consists of an interesting mix of tracks. The overall atmosphere of the album strikes me as spiral of emotion, never really staying to one side or another. It starts off strong with songs Call to Prayer and I Belong To You that emphasize the strength of the cello and the vocals of the band. The use of instruments in the beginning complement each other, giving and building up the atmosphere and emotion of the songs. Once you get through the first few songs the album turns towards a dark somber feeling, starting with Euphoric and Check My Reaction. This might have been their purpose, my life experiences don’t tend to lean towards this style of song at this time so I’ve no preference for them, too sad for my liking. Not that these songs aren’t good, it’s just that I can’t focus on their strengths because they try to tug at the darker side of life.

In comes Hands Off , one of the stronger songs on the album overall. The instrumentals are very ethereal, and the cello carries the melody very well. It brings you back from the hole that the previous few songs dig and picks you up. From then on the album just kind of carries itself to the finish line. The rest of the songs comprise of a various mix of mild emotion and a good mix of string and vocals.

What I truly enjoy about the band the most would be the vocal and the cello. Not that the drums aren’t good, its just that the style of vocals and cello give a good mix of folk and grunge. The raspy growl of the lead singer fills a sort of angst that’s been missing from the music scene and the cello lends a feeling of calm and serene. With the two mixing in the songs it feels like a constant tug between angst and flow. It’s nice to see a refreshing twist on the music scene.

This being the only album I’ve listened to by Treadmill Trackstar, I truly can’t compare it to their others. I feel its a good album though. A bit wordy with the micro songs in between, which feel like they should be kept in the notepad until they grow in to full songs. I’ll continue to listen to Call To Prayer, I Belong To You, and Hands Off on my mp3 player. Otherwise the rest would fit perfectly for a rainy day.

We went out Saturday night and got tickets for the U2 3D IMax presentation. We grabbed sushi from a local Federal Hill joint called Kiku Sushi. I’d have to say the sushi was sub par and the appetizers were decent, nothing too special. It would have been better if the meal hadn’t felt like it was rushed, even though it took a bit of time to get. The Edamame seemed like it was soaked in salt water and then microwaved and some of the salads were drenched in dressing, giving more of a soup than salad feeling. The sushi wasn’t too impressive, with the fish being pretty fatty and nothing too spectacular about the rolls. Then again, if I were to classify it as a standard joint with no frills, this would probably be it. My favorite straight up sushi joint with no frills is still Asahi Sushi in Fells Point.

U2 3D at the Maryland Science Center was a good show. I’m not a huge fan of U2 so my opinion could be somewhat skewed, regardless it was worth the money. The camera work and the effects of the presentation was very cool. The only problem I had, and it might have had more to do with how the IMax works, was that the special effects put strain on my eyes which made them very tired. I enjoyed the show and it was very cool!

I heard about this album from a friend over at damnthatscool.com. The album is pretty good, the overall ton and styling of Trent Reznor add an interesting element to the vocals and rhymes of Saul Williams. I must also note that they’re following the same route that Radiohead did which is allow you to pay what you feel like paying except that Trent and Saul give you the option to just download the album. I wanted to check it out before buying and now I feel compelled to buy it now.

Overall the album stands to be pretty decent. There’s a few notable songs, such as the remake of Sunday Bloody Sunday, Tr(n)igger, and Skin Of a Drum. The album is slow to start, opening with Black History Month and Convict Colony. If you can make it past the first couple of songs though, you’re in the clear.

You can almost feel that Trent is controlling Saul in how his vocals and feelings of the songs play out. With the grittiness of album spinning around intricate lyrics and industrialized samples it feels as though the collaboration didn’t go to waste. It’s a fresh breath of air compared to a lot of the hip-hop stylings that have been polluting the airways.

http://niggytardust.com/