Be's Kitchen & The Simmer Pot

[beszpilman]

Welcome to my music log. This is my journey rather than just my journal. Let me explain and introduce the method, hereafter referred to as "simmering".

But first, some background. I'm Be Szpilman, born 1989, and a complete neophyte to music. I've only really started digging it since 2008, where before I'd been taking music casually, as many people do. So, at least for the next 10 years, by then having tasted about 300 albums, I've a lot of catching up to do.

Simmering ("The Method"): Every two months I select four full-length studio albums, and additionally one or two EPs, to be given extensive and attentive listens all throughout the period. I don't listen only to these albums, but I try to make it such that half my music-time is devoted to the albums being simmered, and the other half to my music collection (collective of all albums already simmered). Sometimes I'll be so excited about the albums selected I ignore my remainder music collection for extended periods of time.

I'll begin posting my past simmers, a post for each, though I've only settled into the two-month period as of last simmer and I could still change or toss around with the length. From then on I'll post my current and then there should be discussion, I'll post impressions and you are always welcomed to post suggestions for next simmers and voice your opinion.

Oh, and there's more to my simmering, some wicked twists and evil plots, but for now the basics suffice.

Note: Yes, "simmer" is of my own absurd metaphoric authorship.

[beszpilman]

Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams (2005)
Rating:4.brilliant | Favorites: Do You Remember; Staple It Together; No Other Way; Good People; Banana Pancakes; Never Know; Better Together
This is a wonderfully mellow and soothing record. Add earbuds and a hammock and you're in between haiwaiian dreams.

Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales (2001)
Rating:3.decent | Favorites: It's All Understood; F-Stop Blues; The News
I may have more nostalgic memories about this album than In Between Dreams, even though I started listening to it after the latter (this first simmer actually began erratically sometime as late as september but maybe earlier). It has more emotional impact, and while I found a few great and thoughtful tracks, it came out to me as much less well-rounded than the follow-up effort by Johnson. Maybe I gave it both less time and spins to sink in. I'll have to simmer it again somewhere in the future, this debut definitely deserves it.

U2 - U218 (2006)
Rating:4.brilliant | Favorites: Window In The Skies; Elevation; Desire; One; Sweetest Thing; Where The Streets Have No Name; New Year's Day; Pride (In The Name Of Love)
I love the epic atmosphere U2 creates. Coldplay does something similar for me. But I've found no song like Where The Streets Have No Name anywhere else so far. That song does not have a climax, it IS a climax in it's entirety.
This compilation of U2's 18 singles was my first slip up of others in the simmers to be posted. I won't be listening to compilations anymore, not when I intend to buy a band's albums, even if only their best ones. Although on this case I learned later on that no other full length contains "Sweetest Thing", and I love that song. So I'll keep mixed feelings about having listened to this record (and I'm already at work making up for that as of the current simmer). Especially as it was my dad's so no money spent!

Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Rating:3.decent | Favorites: Amsterdam; Warning Sign; The Scientist; God Put A Smile Upon Your Face; In My Place
A good album, although not all songs are great. The Scientist and In My Place are godlike though. Now that Cold Case's down I need to get Eyes Open to get ER down as well. At least as of the period I was watching them.
Soon I'll be listening to Parachutes, since I already own it, and then X&Y which should be the best of 'em all from the songs I know beforehand.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the way (2002)
Rating:4.brilliant | Favorites: Minor Thing; On Mercury; The Zephyr Song; Cabron
This album knocked me out of park. I don't even know why I gave it a chance. For some reason I was expecting straight hip hop out of it. Me and my last year's alienation to music! Well, me and my current alienation to music still.. let's keep going!

A word about my rating system. I like to work with 0-5 because it's simple and widely adopted. But since there's a big chance I'll like the albums I choose, because I do carefully select them, a rating of 5 stars could quickly become banalized and overused. So five for me is a perfect record, it's a complete and intense experience and there are no let downs - of course a subjective rating nonetheless. A quick extended description of each rating:
0.refrained - prefer not to rate/dropped midway.
1.painful - was actively avoided/ignored.
2.bearable - mediocre, just listenable.
3.decent - good to great album, a pleasant listen.
4.brilliant - incredible album in every respect, amongst favorites.
5.masterpiece - grew on me to be a perfect record from first to last!

Also, a rating of 0 is not worse than a rating of 1, it means simply I didn't rate it. Had I rated it, it could well have been a 5 or any other just as much. The worst rating is therefore 1.

[Schizotypic]

Just read all of these. The only album I've heard is By The Way by TRHCP's. Not a fan of Cold Play myself, I have no idea who Jack Johnson is, but I have heard here and there U2's Joshua Tree is their best album. So, might want to check that out.

[beszpilman]

The Beach Boys - The Very Best of The Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer (2003)
Rating:3.decent | Favorites: I Can Hear Music; Darlin'; Wild Honey; Heroes And Villains; Wouldn't It Be Nice; God Only Knows; Don't Worry Baby
I've grown up with The Beach Boys and couldn't keep myself from ripping this record from dad's collection. Unfortunately most of his collection is made of compilations, so I'd better get buying my own CD's if I'm to experience good productions. My ears are obviously tickling to get a taste of Pet Sounds, but I might just prefer going through all or most of their discography in proper order. The only real highlight of this "Very Best of" is that Wild Honey is followed by Darlin' and then I Can Hear Music, a triple dose of imense goodness. Particularly I Can Hear Music is one of the sweetest songs I've ever come across, originally by The Ronettes (I couldn't find which record of theirs had the song). Many other tracks here are great, but this compilation being far too lengthy I selected the very best for me. Now I wanna see those songs in context.

The B-52's - Time Capsule (1998)
Rating:3.decent | Favorites: Strobelight; Mesopotamia; Summer Of Love; Deadbeat Club; Roam; Debbie; Hallucinating Pluto
Another of my dad's compilations, I have to forgive myself for listening to this one, if only because it contains the not-found-anywhere-else song "Debbie" which is my favorite B-52's song right next to Deadbeat Club. Strobelight is an absolutely hilarious song of random humor that manages to be catchy all the while. Hallucinating Pluto and Roam are highly atmospheric songs, anthems to me, and Summer Of Love, here in it's original unreleased version (never heard the released one to compare), gives me such a fuzzy warm feeling that's probably the mixing of summer, love and nostalgia. Great record for having Debbie but I'll be after studio albums of theirs in the future. Might just start with Funplex.

Norah Jones - Feels Like Home (2004)
Rating:4.brilliant | Favorites: Sunrise; Toes; Humble Me
The good thing about this simmer period is I spent not a dime with the CDs! This was my mom's (castaside) so I picked it out of pure curiosity. Oh! what joy came of it! To date this is one of my favorite albums, though that might not say so much because I have listened to really few albums and among the better artists some were "Best of", just meh. This bluesy country-jazz instantly got to me, my best companion for a cozy day alone doing whatever (doing nothing works best). All tracks are good and it works great as a whole (it's length is just right too), but I have special care for Humble Me. It does humble me as well as Ms. Jones and I like that.


Now for a quick take on the simmer period that followed, my Simmer #3 which lasted only a month (February 2009). Since I had started learning to play the sax by the end of 2008, I decided to make February a month for instrumental and especifically sax oriented albums. Actually it was going to be two months as far as I could tell, but by the end of the first month I couldn't stand the drudgery any longer and longed for voiced, "poppier" works. Maybe it's my age, current musical maturity, bad selection of albums for getting started, all of those or something else entirely. Regardless, I'm done with instrumental albums for the foreseeable future. Here was my selection:

John Coltrane - Blue Train (1958)
Rating:0.refrained
Marcos Szpilman - Um sax no cinema (1995)
Rating:0.refrained
Various - A Buddha Lounge Tribute to The Beatles (2007)
Rating:0.refrained

Blue Train worked well as a soundtrack to workout to but Alas! Otherwise I got bored listening to it's jams.

Schizotypic, thanks for chiming in! Joshua Tree is definitely next on my U2 simmerlist.