The Dave Matthews Band

I'm on another little Dave Matthews Band kick and I need to tell you all about how awesome this band is so here you go:

The members

This band has a main crew as well as traveling/temporary musicians for tours. There are always a lot of people on stage. Here are the main players:

Dave Matthews.
Singer/songwriter and guitarist.
Says crazy things and has crazy feet.

Boyd Tinsley. Violinist.
Super badass violin player.

Carter Beauford. Drums/backing vocals
Everyone has a crush on him (especially me).
He chews gum and blows bubbles during live shows.
#CarterForPresident

Stefan Lessard. Bassist.
I don't really have a fun fact about him, but he's really good.

LeRoi Moore. Saxophone. Died in 2008.
Made long saxophone solos not just bearable, but awesome.

Tim Reynolds. Guitarist for some live shows/acoustic shows.
Seriously the most talented guitar player ever.

The musicianship

These guys are quite simply the best musicians I've ever seen. The extent of their talent can really only be seen in live shows especially during their long improvised jam sessions. The full band sound is great, but some songs are better suited to the acoustic versions played by Dave and Tim. It's amazing what they can do with two guitars. 

Their skill is also evident in the fact that it is impossible to place a genre on any of their music, and yet they have a distinct sound. Their genre is quite simply DMB. There's nothing else like it.

The lyrics

Dave Matthews writes the cleverest most beautiful and most creative lyrics of any musician that I have heard. Here are some of my favorite lyrics. Either because they are deep and meaningful, utterly poetic, or just plain ridiculous. Click on the song title to listen:

From "What Would You Say": Every dog has its day and every day has its way of being forgotten - Mom, it's my birthday. This song is chock full of silly lyrics but this one is probably my favorite because of its rhythm.

From "Grey Street": She feels like kicking out all the windows, and setting fire to this life. She could change everything about her using colors bold and bright -- but all the colors mix together to grey, and it breaks her heart. In a sad song very clearly about depression, this lyric is beautiful.

From "So Much To Say": *copies and pastes entire song* No, but here's most of it: I say my hell is this closet I'm stuck inside. Can't see the light. And my heaven is a nice house in the sky. Got central heating, and I'm alright. // Keep it locked up inside, don't talk about it. T-t-talk about the weather. // I find sometimes it's easy to be myself. Sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else. // 'Cause here we have been standing for a long, long time. Can't see the light. Treading trodden trails for a long, long time. I love everything about this song. The theme of it, often refrained in DMB songs, is basically: We all just keep doing the same thing and we never really live and if you stop and actually think about that it's terrifying, but don't be scared, just rock out to this cool song. It'll all be okay. (And "I find sometimes..." is my favorite lyric ever, of any song, for the record. It has been for a long time.)

From "Crush": It's crazy I'm thinking just knowing that the world is round. Here I'm dancing on the ground. Am I right side up or upside down? Is this real or am I dreaming? Beautiful to equate the disorienting notion of a round earth to being in love.

From "Dancing Nancies": I am who I am who I am well, who am I? Requesting some enlightenment: could I have been anyone other than me? And then I sing and dance, I'll play for you tonight. The thrill of it all. Dark clouds may hang on me sometimes, but I'll work it out. And then I look up at the sky, my mouth is open wide, lick and taste. What's the use in worrying, what's the use in hurrying? Turn, turn, we almost become dizzy. The"dancing Nancies" that Dave asks himself whether he could have been in another life are clearly the screaming female fans that he sings this song to. It's existential, yeah, but it's fun to hear a song very clearly from the performer's point of view and very much in the moment: at a live show he's literally singing about what he's doing at that exact moment. Which actually makes it even more existential.

From "Ants Marching": Once again the whole song is gold but here's some bits: We look at each other. Wondering what the other is thinking. But we never say a thing. And these crimes between us grow deeper. // Candyman tempting the thoughts of a sweet-tooth, tortured by the weight loss programs, cutting the corners, there's a loose-end, loose-end, cut, cut. On the fence, could not to offend, cut, cut, cut, cut. Take these chances, place them in a box until a quieter time, lights down you up and die. The message of this song is similar to that of "So Much To Say": we don't say the things we should say, we never step outside of the box, we put our lives on hold -- until it's too late. But it's lighthearted enough to not depress you too terribly.

From "Jimi Thing": What I've got is what I've not got. And what I need is all around me. // Shouldn't care, I shouldn't care, bereaved as I'm feeling. I'm pretty sure a lot of this song is about heroin, but it's also just about relaxing, which can do without drugs. Just listen to this song. Don't do drugs kids.

From "Crash Into Me": The entire song. It's poetry. Okay, but here's some selections: You've got your ball, you've got your chain tied to me tight tie me up again. // Lost for you, I'm so lost for you. // I'm bare-boned and crazy for you. // And I watch you there through the window when I stare at you wear nothing but you wear it so well, tied up and twisted the way I'd like to be, for you, for me, come crash into me. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that this song left some impressions on my young mind about sex and desire, but what's done is done.

From "The Space Between": But will I hold you again? These fickle, fuddled words confuse me. Like 'Will it rain today?' Waste the hours with talking, talking. These twisting games we're playing. We're strange allies with warring hearts. What a wild-eyed beast you be. This is one of those songs that has a color and mood permanently attached to it for me, most probably from seeing the music video and connecting the two but not being totally aware of it. So it's grayish-blue and rain. It's beautiful.

From "Seek Up": Forget about the reasons and the treasons we are seeking. Forget about the notion that our emotions can be swept away, kept at bay. Forget about being guilty, we are innocent instead. For soon we will all find our lives swept away. Highly existential again. One of the more pointedly political DMB songs.

From "Satellite": Winter's cold spring erases. And the calm away by the storm is chasing. Everything good needs replacing. Look up look down, all around, hey, satellite. Rest high above the clouds, no restriction. Television, we bounce 'round the world. And while I spend these hours, five sensing reeling, I laugh about the weatherman's satellite eyes. This is a song literally about watching TV and it's so beautiful. And the use of inverted syntax? (Or as my Dad calls it, "Yoda-speak.") Love it. I heavily associate this song with the color orange and with the memory of playing under my dining room table as a kid.

From "Stay or Leave": So what to do with the rest of the day's afternoon, hey, isn't it strange how we change everything we did? Did I do all that I should? That I could've done? Remember we used to dance and everyone wanted to be you and me, I want to be too. What day is this? Besides the day you left me. Like all of Dave's lyrics, the poetic flow of this song is beautiful and there's some good imagery in the verses.

From "Gravedigger": Technically a Dave Matthews solo song but it's relevant: Gravedigger, when you dig my grave, can you make it shallow so that I can feel the rain? I think this lyric might constitute my entire last will and testament.

From "#41": I will go in this way, and I'll find my own way out. I won't tell you what to be, oh no, but I'm coming to much more. Me. All at once the ghosts come back, reeling in you now. Oh, tell me what if they came down crushing. It used to be that you and me would play for all the loneliness that nobody notices now. I'm begging slow as I'm coming here. I'm only waiting. I wanted to stay, I wanted to play, I wanted to love you. I'm only this far, and only tomorrow leads the way. I'm coming waltzing back and moving into your head, please. I wouldn't pass this by, oh no, but I wouldn't take more than I need. What sort of man rolls by? Well, I will bring you water. Why won't you ever be glad? It melts into wonder. I came in playing for you. Why won't you run into rain and play?Let all the tears pass all over you. Oops I typed out almost the entire song. If you haven't listened to any of these songs, listen to this one. I've linked you to a live acoustic version that will change your life.

The live shows

I've seen the band live once, in 2010 on their Gru Grux tour. It was indoors, at the Xcel, which was great but this band is definitely better suited to outdoor venues. There are a lot of fantastic traditions involved in a live DMB show, but their set lists are usually unpredictable and varied. They are a must-see live band; most of their songs are incomparably better live than studio. Even when listening on my iPod I often opt for a live recording from a concert than an album version. 

The live versions are also much longer. The band will always have improvised jam sessions on many songs. For example, performances of "Two Step" and "#41" can get as long as 20 minutes.

This band has a refreshing "we don't care if you videotape/record us" policy. It's part of their great vibe of not taking themselves too seriously. You can find quality live recordings and video from any show you want. Here's some from the show that I went to:

The first video is "The Jimi Thing", a fun live song. In the particular version they had the horn players from the warm-up band join them for a little jam.

The second was their closing song that night, and arguably their most well-known song, "Ants Marching." You can hear the traditional bit of audience participation as we sing the lines, "People in every direction. No words exchanged, no time to exchange them" as the band cuts out. It's so much fun to be there for that, and it sounds awesome. 

As you can tell, the energy level of this band live is spectacular, but they still sound great -- Dave's voice is great, all the instruments sound great. There's no trade off between energy level and sound quality.

Another fun thing they do at concerts is teasing the audience with what song they're going to play. They'll mess around and jam for a while before finally revealing, through lyrics or a recognizable riff, what song it is -- and then the crowd goes wild.

A critique of various titles sequences

I watch a lot of tv shows and one thing that happens when you watch a lot of tv shows is you watch a ton of titles sequences -- over and over and over again. Sometimes this is fine; if the titles are good or short it's not a problem. Here are my critiques for the titles of many shows I have watched some of or all of, based on the length, visuals, audio, and appropriateness to the mood of the show.

Sherlock

Length: Definitely appropriate for a 90 minute show.

Visuals: Great! Beautifully used images from the show.

Audio: Don't even get me started. The song is great on its own, but let's remember that the titles song is a combination of Sherlock's theme and John's motif. Excuse me while I cry.

Mood: Perfect. The transition to the titles feels totally appropriate each of the 9 times. It works well to pre-lap the beginning of the song.

Overall: Perfect titles sequence. I love the slight changes from season to season while still using the same basic format.

Doctor Who

Here's all the titles if you want to watch them. I'm going to be focusing on the New Who editions, specifically the Tennant years, a.k.a. the best years.

Length: Good!

Visuals: The vortex is always a fun time. I love that they include the episode title and writer in each titles sequence.

Audio: oohh-weEEEE-OHHHH...WEEEE-OOoohh

Mood: Fitting. It's a good titles sequence to get excited during.

Overall: Great! I love the updates from doctor to doctor while still maintaining the same basic feel.

Lost

Length: They could have made it a tad longer and eliminated some of the overlaid credits during the first act. But I'm not going to complain about a short titles sequence.

Visuals: Simple. Nice.

Audio: It gets old after a while, especially since 85% of Lost's score is that same eerie sound.

Mood: It never feels wrong, especially since the cold opens often end on miniature cliff-hangers.

Overall: Good all around.

How I Met Your Mother

Length: Perfect for a half hour show.

Visuals: Cute and funny -- but I do wonder why they never updated them after 10 years.

Audio: Kind of annoying, but it works.

Mood: On point.

Overall: Acceptable.

Orange Is the New Black

Length: This show has so often been teased for its on-the-long-side titles sequence, that lasts for over a minute. However, the placement of the titles at the very beginning of every episode (except the pilot) helps the sequence feel less long.

Visuals: I am mesmerized by these women's faces every time I watch it and I've seen it quite a few times.

Audio: I always sing along... it's my jam.

Mood: Fits the show perfectly. I think for this differently-formatted show, it works well to place the titles at the very beginning and this eliminates any possibility of an awkward transition.

Overall: Love it!

House of Cards

Length: Kinda long.

Visuals: Cool time-lapse photography, but nothing that's captivating to watch over and over again.

Audio: Great! I was actually just talking to my uncle about how great the theme music is.

Mood: It works because, much like the show, it's a bit too serious.

Overall: Decent.

The Walking Dead

Length: It doesn't feel long, which is more important that its actual length.

Visuals: Nice! I like the creepy turning doorknob from the first episode -- the cracked photo-frames of different characters are a little trite.

Audio: Perfectly creepy.

Mood: Definitely works.

Overall: Effective.

The West Wing

Length: Just a bit on the long side.

Visuals: Maybe a little overdone. 

Audio: It's good standing alone, but often seems strange in the context of the show. A little too triumphant.

Mood: Again, too triumphant. There are several very awkward transitions where the lighthearted music just doesn't work.

Overall: It's The West Wing, though, so we'll let it slide.

Breaking Bad

Length: Short and sweet.

Visuals: Nothing short of iconic.

Audio: Flawless. The theme song captures the "western" feel that this show aims for.

Mood: Spot-on. The titles sequence works every time, in every episode. It never feels awkward or out of place. This is also somewhat due to Breaking Bad's tradition of having super great cold opens, but some credit must go to the titles sequence as well.

Overall: Perfect show is perfect.

Orphan Black

Length: Fine.

Visuals: Interesting, but nothing too engaging.

Audio: Not my favorite, but not bad.

Mood: I can't place my finger on it, but there's something about the titles sequence that doesn't quite click with the show.

Overall: I love the show too much to be too critical.

The Office

Length: There's a full version and a short version which is great to prevent audiences getting annoyed.

Visuals: Entertaining. They kept it updated pretty well as the seasons progressed.

Audio: My dad gets super annoyed by this song, but I love it.

Mood: Absolutely perfect.

Overall: Solid titles sequence.

Twin Peaks

Length: Hilariously long.

Visuals: So 90s.

Audio: *snore*

Mood: Somehow, perfect.

Overall: You really can't rip on it, it's Twin Peaks. 

Game of Thrones

Length: Definitely long, but the placement at the very beginning of each episode helps it not feel so.

Visuals: Not only beautiful but also a great way to sort out where everything is happening in the show.

Audio: Perfect.

Mood: Perfect.

Overall: I would watch this show just for the titles sequence, to be honest.

Emmys 2014: predictions, disappointments, hopes and fears

The nominations for the 2014 Emmys were announced recently and they're not surprising, but still fairly satisfying. My hopes for the Emmys this year were for Breaking Bad to win literally every drama category except for best actress, reserved for Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black, and for Orange Is The New Black to sweep the comedy category, and I guess Sherlock could take mini-series/T.V. movie.

That's not going to happen, but, as I said, I was still fairly satisfied with the news.

Breaking Bad is nominated for best drama series for its fifth year in a row, and has the chance to win for the second time (would be two consecutive wins). It's up against some stiff competition of shows I haven't really watched, like Games Of Thrones, Mad Men, House of Cards, True Detective and Downton Abbey. That being said, I'm not concerned. Breaking Bad already took home the Golden Globe for its final season -- and it's their final season and they've only won twice.

I haven't seen any episodes of Game of Thrones (which has the most nominations this year at 19), nor have I seen any episodes of True Detective, which has both its leads up against Bryan Cranston for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Bryan Cranston has the Emmy in the bag this year. Wanna know why? Every time he has been nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Walter White, he has won. He won for the first three seasons, then wasn't nominated for the last two Emmys (for some inconceivable reason). I doubt he'll break this streak. He'll obviously submit "Ozymandias", but even looking beyond his mind-blowing acting in that one episode, I'm sure voters will consider his work across the series -- and the fact that he hasn't been recognized for it for two years. He'll win. And he won the Golden Globe for the final season, if that's an indication.

Aaron Paul has been nominated for the fifth year in a row for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He's won twice before, for seasons 3 and 4. And to be quite honest and melancholy, I'm not getting my hopes up this year. Aaron definitely, definitely deserves a total of 3 Emmys for his master-class acting throughout the series and the world needs another one of his adorable acceptance speeches, but this season wasn't really his season. Jesse had no lines at all in one of the episodes, and for many others, he only had a handful. Of course, it will in theory depend only on the episode he submits, which probably will be "Confessions" and I think he could hold his own with that episode. Then again, his character doesn't allow for the fuller range of emotions in the final season as it did in previous seasons: all Jesse does in season 5b, heart-breakingly, is cry. A lot. There's a lot of anger in "Confessions" as well (a lot -- the most rage we've ever seen from Jesse), but I'm not sure if it will be enough.

I'm thrilled to see Anna Gunn nominated for the third time in a row, and fresh off her spectacularly well-deserved win last year. She should also submit "Ozymandias"; even in that one 45-minute episode it's hard to decide which clip will best demonstrate her prowess, but even this episode doesn't showcase her talent in the same way "Fifty-One" does. It would have been criminal for her not to have won last year. But this year... I'm even less hopeful about Anna's chances than Aaron's, but that being said I think it helps that both of them are in the supporting category, to slightly lessen the competition. In many shows that don't have as clear a single leading man their roles would be large enough to be considering leads.

Breaking Bad also holds two of the nomination spots for Best Writing -- Moira Walley Becket for "Ozymandias" and Vince Gilligan for "Felina." I don't want to live in a world where "Ozymandias" hasn't won an Emmy for best writing.Vince Gilligan has another shot at an Emmy for directing "Felina" -- which is totally deserved. And then there's another seven nominations in the Creative Arts category for a total of 16 nominations. *eyes well up* I love my show. I'm so proud.

In conclusion, I won't set myself up for disappointment if all three Breaking Bad actors don't win. But I will definitely cry if it doesn't win best drama series.

Speaking of drama series... WHERE IS TATIANA MASLANY'S NOMINATION? This was not a surprising omission, but still disappointing. I shouldn't be surprised that the Emmys isn't actually looking for the best acting -- just to award the most critically-acclaimed shows and not move outside of its ring of T.V.-snobbery. Which would actually help Breaking Bad's chances, so it's not all bad. But still, my wife needs an Emmy.

Moving onto comedy, I hope that this year is all about Orange Is The New Black. I recently watched the first two seasons of this fantastic show. This year the second season (in my opinion the better of the two) has secured a slew of nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, a whopping 3 in Guest Actress, Writing, Directing and then a few Creative Arts nominations. I just don't want Modern Family to win. Please, no.

Sherlock earned a few nominations in the TV movie category for which it submitted "His Last Vow." Brilliant decision. Interestingly, Benedict Cumberbatch has been nominated in the same category as Martin Freeman (the latter nominated for his role in Fargo). Martin Freeman is also nominated for Sherlock as a supporting actor. I hope they both win, and I think they do have a chance.

No matter what happens, it will be fun to watch and see a lot of my favorite shows recognized!

Unless Breaking Bad doesn't win best drama series. Then I will cry.

The perfect music in Breaking Bad

This is a very self-indulgent post, but what is this blog if not self-indulgent.

If you haven't caught on yet, I really, really love Breaking Bad. One of the things I've been enjoying about it recently is the soundtrack. I don't know who exactly was in charge of finding and using songs, but they deserve all the awards, because my god - every song is perfect. And not just perfect, but the kind of perfect where at first you're like - "hm. I'm not sure if this song... wait a second... wait... yes... it's perfect." That kind of perfect.

A lot of these songs are ones that I don't think I would enjoy much apart from the association with Breaking Bad, but I love this show so much that it actually eclipses my pre-existing music taste. Here are some of favorites that make up my Breaking Bad mix CD which I play all the time. Seriously, if you see me driving around town, there's a 100% chance I'm listening to it.

Click on the song title to listen.

Out Of Time Man (101 - Pilot)

This song is my jam. It brings me back to a much simpler time in the show -- specifically, the end of the first episode. There was already a body count of 1, but you still like Walt as a person at this point. You share in his exhilaration.

One By One (209 - Four Days Out)

This song accompanies the fantastic montage from this episode -- which is the scene that defines the happier times that all Breaking Bad fans feel desperately nostalgic for.

Rocket Scientist (305 - Mas)

This is my punk-rock, rebellious teenager song. It works well in the flashback strip-club scene and is an all-around fun song to bring us back to the relatively carefree Jesse of season 1.

He Venido (306 - Sunset)

This song works well with the bittersweet RV destruction scene and the segue into the episode's closing scene, which gets things rolling for the next episode.

Truth (401 - Box Cutter)

This great song comes in as Walt walks away from his house, a little degraded and holding up his pants, and continues into the short closing scene: the police investigating Gale's apartment. We end focused on his Lab Notes sitting on the coffee table with no idea that this little book, and this murder, will be Walt's ultimate downfall.

If I Had A Heart (403 - Open House)

First of all, this is pretty much my new favorite song. It's perfect for Jesse's dead-inside phase during the first bit of season 4. This song starts during Jesse's iconic "sad go-karting" scene and continues as he returns to find his home trashed and crowded -- and realizes that he doesn't care. He'll do anything to avoid being alone.

1977 (405 - Shotgun):

This is a great, fun song that works perfectly with the Jesse/Mike montage. We see Jesse come back to life in this episode and get to know Mike a little bit better -- and it's really the beginning of their relationship that grows to be one of mutual respect. But right now Jesse thinks Mike is gonna kill him and Mike is annoyed that he has to spend any time with him at all. But every great father-son relationship starts somewhere, right?

Goodbye (413 - Face Off):

This is an amazing song to begin with, and was used beautifully in the show. The instrumental version plays as Gus walks into the retirement home to his death. (Saying that he's just walking into a retirement home, although true, sounds kinda weird if you haven't seen the show.) Once we know that Gus wasn't actually at fault for the poisoning of Brock it's kind of a sad scene to see him go.

On A Clear Day (503 - Hazard Pay)

You can watch the actual scene via the link! It's a really good cook montage and the song works well with that and with the feeling of "everything's sort of okay right now." Which is a rare feeling on the show, so let's just roll with it.

Crystal Blue Persuasion (508 - Gliding Over All)

This is the title song of the most famous montage sequence from this show (i.e. the Crystal Blue Persuasion montage). It's actually a pretty bad song, but how could they pass up using a song literally called Crystal Blue Persuasion in a show about making blue crystal meth. Like, c'mon.

Take My True Love By The Hand (514 - Ozymandias)

This song choice, to me, proves what a great show this is. To follow up the music/score-free and high-intensity first act, they cool the drama just a little with a song that's perfect for Walt rolling his barrel, all he has left in the world ("money's getting scarce"), through the desert. It's the kind of song that makes you laugh a little, which is exactly what we need as a respite in the middle of the most emotionally wrenching episode of anything, ever.

Baby Blue (516 - Felina)

The first few chords of this song honestly choke me up because of how it was used in the show. That is, the last song used, the last audio used, as Walt dies in the finale. And it's a pretty happy song. The lyrics are perfect, I mean - "I guess I got what I deserved"? Yeah.

A lot of these songs are used in montage sequences, and while some heighten the mood, most actually cut the tension or add a little bit of tongue-in-cheek fun to parts that would be overly serious with a different soundtrack choice. And this show knows when to not use any music at all, which is important -- but the times when music is used, it's tasteful and adds a lot to the scene.