Apr 01 : "Odessa" (Caribou) - Tygerstrype

Fresh Music / Newly Arranged (March 2012)

Philly Music!

Philly band Tygerstrype has been busy these days. A couple weeks ago they released "Odessa", which is a cover of the band Caribou. This was Tygerstype's first cover, and comes on the heels of their full-length album release "Lackadaisical Daisy" back in 2011.

The instrumentals on "Odessa" have a haunting quality and sound a little darker than many of the songs on Daisy, although there is quite a range on the latter. Listen to "Little Bros" and "Malevolence" as contrasts.

Tygerstrype is currently the team of Gabriel Guererro and Alden Towler. It was originally the brainchild of Gabriel, who comes from a history of being a hip-hop artist.

The first instrument that Gabe ever played was the bass, which he played in bands some years back. But not for too long. He became impatient with being confined by the limitations of one musical instrument's capabilities. That's when he decided to expand his efforts into electronics.

He then created Tygerstrype as a solo electronics act.

Alden also has a long history of playing music. His first real instruments were the flute and the recorder which he started to play around age 5 or 6. At age 12 a family member gave him a guitar which he started to play a year later when another family member taught him "Angie" by The Rolling Stones. And he hasn't put it down since!

In college he played in bands with Gabe, but then they went their separate ways for a few years.

It wasn't until September, 2010, that they got back together as Alden joined Gabe to do the "Lackadaisical Daisy" album.

So I heard Tygerstrype do a good show last weekend at Kung Fu Necktie, where they played all of these songs. The audience was hyped up and excited, and it was a good debut for their cover of "Odessa".

Current song right here on my blog page is "Odessa", the Caribou cover by Tygerstrype.

To visit Tygerstrype where you can hear all of this new music, click here ::: Tygerstrype (CLICK HERE)

Mar 19 : "Noche Roja" - Simon Oliver and Jason LaTour

Saturday morning I went to the Chestnut Hill Library because they had an available copy of the next book the book club is reading. By the way, this branch is quite beautiful, with a nice solarium with easy chairs in the back of the building.

While I was there I checked the "New Fiction" shelves to find some good new titles. And, by initially "judging a book by its cover" (or, to be more precise, by the graphics on its spine), I picked up the book "Noche Roja" by Simon Oliver. The blurb on the cover said, "Gripping and stylish. Oliver's killer noir yarn is matched only by the striking cartooning LaTour uses to tell it. What a great read!" … Huh? …. Cartoons? … I opened up the book and saw that the entire book was a story in cartoon form. Jason LaTour is the artist.

This was a first for me. I had never seen a cartoon story in book form, not to mention one that was a "full-length" 181 pages long. I opened it up, read a few pages, and saw that, visually, it lived up to its description of being a "noir" thriller. But in addition to being a murder mystery, it appeared that the story had a social conscience as well. The blurb on the back said, "With the gritty, stylized artwork of Jason LaTour, "Noche Roja" is an enthralling noir tale of how the insatiable craving for cheap consumer goods leads to the ultimate cheapening of life itself." … I liked this whole package and decided to read it..

I finished reading the book yesterday evening. The story is about Jack Cohen, an ex-cop turned private investigator who is pulled into looking into the disappearances and murders of young women who all happened to be working for one company south of the border. …. I had suspicions. I didn't think a cartoon format could deliver real suspense, nor did I think it could present realistic multi-dimensional characters with good qualities and bad, nor did I ever imagine that the climactic ending of a cartoon story would ever move me, but I was wrong on all counts. This is a true noir thriller with characters living on the edge. (And the story has a heart).

This is a must read. GET IT. The Free Library has several copies available at branches all around town. Free Library (CLICK HERE)

The book was published just about a year ago. Here is an interview with the author that took place about that time. Interview with Simon Oliver (CLICK HERE)

4/5/14 (afterthought) --- I've since learned that graphic novels constitute a whole genre, but this was my first venture into that area. :)

Mar 18 : "I Want You Alive" - Left Of Logic

New Music / Freshly Written & Recently Released (February 2012!)

Last night I went to Milkboy to hear three bands that I had never heard before. All three bands were good, but, in my opinion, the band that stole the night was West Chester band "Left Of Logic". Don't openers have a way of doing that! :)

I never knew what was happening or what would come next, from song to song, or phrase to phrase, or measure to measure. The band would deftly combine the feel of various styles or genres into one song, switching back and forth in what would at first seem to be a chaotic style, but then somehow wrapping up the work into a unified whole.

There was certainly no predictability here, other than they would be unpredictable. My attention was glued to them every second; I never knew where they would take me next.

Current song playing right here on my blog page is "I Want You Alive" by West Chester band Left Of Logic.

Left Of Logic is a VERY new band, and they don't have all the web pages up and running, so I'll say that if you want to hear more of their music, check out ::: Left Of Logic / music on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE), and if you want to find out show or other information, check out ::: Left Of Logic / Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Mar 18 : "Meditations" - Marcus Aurelius

Earlier this winter, "The Today Show" did an interview with former President Bill Clinton on the topic of notable books from 2011.

Pres. Clinton spoke about a few of his favorite books from the past year and why he would recommend them to viewers. But one comment he made stuck in my mind, and that was that there was one book that he read each year, "Meditations", by Marcus Aurelius.

I had never heard anybody in any capacity say that they read any book every year. I was intrigued. I thought this was something worth checking out.

Marcus Aurelius was Emperor of Rome from the year 161 to 180. He wrote these "meditations" as thoughts for his own self guidance and self-improvement. They were never intended to be read by the larger public.

"Meditations" is divided into twelve "books", and the format is similar to the Bible in that the sentences or verses are numbered.

What struck me in reading the book was the similarity of human nature then and now. I found some of his observations had resonance in today's world. But there are also substantial portions of the writings that are very esoteric, only relevant if you're a world leader planning battles.

The thrust of some of his ideas advocate being one with nature and not trying to fight the way nature is. From Book VII, verse 9 :::

All things are mutually intertwined, and the bond is holy, and there is hardly anything unconnected with any other thing. For things have been coordinated, and they combine to form one universal order. For there is one universe made up of all things, and one God who pervades all things, and one substance, and one law, one common reason in all intelligent animals, and one truth; if indeed there is also one perfection for all animals that are of the same stock and participate in the same reason.

He talks frequently about our creating problems for ourselves by allowing our minds to obsess on issues over which we may or may not have control, thereby not leaving enough room in our thought processes to maximize our capabilities in other areas.

He also talks about self-destructive thought patterns in the way we react to and with others.

It's an intriguing book; I'd recommend you take a look at it. The library has several copies; I'm returning mine in a day or two.

Here's some more information about the book and the author ::: "Meditations" / more information (CLICK HERE)

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Update Sep 02, 2019

James Mattis was interviewed yesterday on "CBS Sunday Morning". I was in awe when he said that his library once held over 7,000 volumes ... and he's read most of them.

And one of the books he values most and always kept by his side in battle was "Meditations". He's marked up his own copy with plenty of notes and observations.

Mar 18 : "Soul Damage" - The Orange Drop

Philly Music!

It's always a pleasure to go to a show to hear one band and then unexpectedly come across another band that I never heard before and wind up liking that one as well. Such was the case when I went to the Troc show to hear 185668232 and found myself also liking Philly psych band "The Orange Drop".

Current song playing right here on my blog page is "Soul Damage", which is from the band's album "Catharsis".

I enjoyed listening to them and have "liked" them on all the appropriate pages so I won't miss their future shows.

To visit The Orange Drop, here is the click ::: The Orange Drop (CLICK HERE)