Music To My Ears

Some songs randomly came up on rotation on my computer today as I was proofing things at work -- and then editing things at home (page 309) and I wanted to write something about both artists/albums.

Artist: Beck
CD: Guero
I like Beck. Initially I liked Beck despite myself, but he was good when he first appeared and he's only gotten better with time. His newest release, Guero, is his best so far. The entire CD is full of excellent tracks. Sure, some are weaker than others, but there are far more strong tracks than weak ones.

The lyrics are classic Beck; surreal, nonsensical, poetic, evocative, and just plain good. The music is solid and the whole package is produced excellently. Much of Beck's work runs the risk of sounding a bit over-produced, but none of the tracks on this release come close. Instead they just sound good.

If you've ever enjoyed a single song by Beck (heck, even if you haven't), I recommend this CD. And maybe it's just me, but some of the tracks sound like something Peter Gabriel might do. High praise in my book.

Stand out tracks: E-Pro, Que Onda Guero, Girl, Missing, Earthquake Weather, Rental Car, and I'm sure others will grow on me over time.

Artist: Katie Davis
CD: Terrible, Terrible (or at Amazon)
Katie Davis is new to this whole music thing, but you'd never know by listening to her first release. It's a collection of four of her songs and really only makes you want to hear more of what must be a closetful -- or at least a headful -- of music.

All of the songs on this CD are sad and sweet and sincere. Sometimes achingly so. You really get a sense of the experiences behind each song even as you're enjoying them for being really good songs. And despite the fact that each of the songs was no doubt inspired by events from her life, they're written broadly enough that anyone can empathize with the sentiment they contain. These songs are why I listen to music.

I know I've mentioned Katie here before, but she deserves your support and you will absolutely love her music. I swear. For reals.

Why write about these? Because I think you should pick up both CDs if you're into music. They're too damn good to miss.