Lalagray’s Devil’s Nest is one album you’ll want to have. And from what I’ve heard, the show is one you’ll want to go to. I’ll combine a review of the album and the show next week but for now, just trust me on this. If you don’t want to trust me, some girl on the internet, trust the Dallas Observer on this one: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2010/09/bonus_mp3_lalagray_–_bag_of_b.php

See you there.

(Lalagray / website / tumblr / myspace / twitter / facebook)

Jacob Metcalf will be joined by Baruch the Scribe who are good reason to arrive at Dan’s Silver Leaf in Denton early tonight. Show is slated for a 9:30PM start and you kids over eighteen-years old can get in for just $5. Small price to pay to bid Jacob bon voyage and let him know he and his music will be missed (and should be recorded and released and shared with the world).

(Jacob Metcalf / myspace / twitter / facebook)

I Love Charts (http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com) is a blog that is “By people who love charts for people who love charts”. Some of the charts are silly MS Paint jobs that will put a smile on your face and others are beautifully designed graphs and charts. Dig it:

As if Dentonite songbird Sarah Jaffe isn’t a local music favorite yet, Dallas Observer posted a few videos of her last Friday which I’ve watched multiple, multiple times today. She won’t be back in town for another two weeks when she plays at the Granada Theater with Seryn but as I’ve mentioned before, she is definitely worth checking out live. From the sounds of this video of her new, unreleased song, “A Sucker For Your Marketing,” I will undoubtedly buy her upcoming release… which, cross your fingers, may be released as early as this fall?

(Sarah Jaffe / website / myspace / facebook / last.fm)

Even sixteen years later, I make sure my small, used, discolored copy of Fahrenheit 451 remains in my book collection in case I need to reminisce about how geeky I was (and still am) or remind myself that the internet may be full of information but nothing could ever replace the feel, smell, and endless possibilities of a good book.

So, in lieu of one of my favorite author’s 90th birthday, I will be humming this tune in my head all day (NSFW):

Curiosity got the best of me and everyone loves listening to people sing with a mouthful of water so naturally, I hit up Google to find a clip from this concert and ran across an amusing message board thread. In it, I found both Creed performing “Bullets” from their Creed Live DVD (which broke a few Guinness World Records?) and a parody called Creed Shreds. The precision of the dubbing in Creed Shreds is what keeps me coming back for more. Someone put some effort into those videos and for that, I applaud them. I’m not sure which sounds more like someone singing with a mouthful of water, real Creed or fake Creed but you can make the choice yourself:

Real Creed:

Fake Creed:

The first time I heard about Ashley Myrick (musically known as Lalagray) was through Twitter since I happen to follow some DFW musicians that enjoy tweeting. @lalagray was getting more and more mentions, so naturally, I checked out her account, saw that she likes to tweet regularly, and hit the “follow” button. During my blogging hiatus, I really didn’t keep tabs on the local music scene much but knew she sang with The Beaten Sea and Dallas Family Band, and I listened to a few of her simple recordings on Myspace. I liked what I heard. But I was on a hiatus and listened to nothing but Mumford and Sons so I didn’t dive in too much further. (I told you yesterday, it’s been a pretty mild summer.)

Fast forward to yesterday when I finally had a breather at work and could spare a few minutes to check out her new site, www.lalagray.com, and the three tunes from her upcoming album. I had been listening to The Beaten Sea for about an hour, took the detour to her site, then proceeded to stream those three songs until the end of the work day. Yes, I listened to three songs over and over for about five hours. Prior to yesterday, I was already familiar with her beautiful voice, but to hear that voice combined with full instrumentation blew me away. Beautiful voices are a dime a dozen but the grandness “Devil’s Nest” reaches at its peaks is enough for me to head to Dallas for her CD release show, September 4th at LaGrange. Her supporting cast assures me that her live show should be as fantastic as her mastered recordings.

(Lalagray / website / tumblr / myspace / twitter / facebook)

I think part of the reason I stopped updating this blog is due to the fact that I somehow became a “music blog” and understandably so, since I wrote about NX35 for fifty days in a row. But I never really wrote about music before that. I wrote about myself and various other things I enjoy like TV, food, naps, and baby animals doing silly things on YouTube. I thought perhaps I could abandon all that and learn the ways of becoming a snarky, obscure music-lovin’, hipster blogger but snark gets old and deconstructive, and to be honest, a lot of obscure music remains obscure for a reason. (Wait, was that snark?)

With that said, I’ll be posting again and will leave you with what’s been playing through my headphones this morning:

Do you know what tonight is, y’all? It’s only the beginning of the fourth season of Friday Night Lights as aired on NBC! (DirecTV viewers, keep your spoilers to yourself!) This television show captured the hearts of faithful critics and viewers that have championed to keep this show alive, overcoming obstacles such as the Writers Guild strike, terrible time slot, and lousy ratings. I’ve already set my DVR to record their penultimate season and have had the pleasure of listening to their newest soundtrack which is available online now and in stores May 18th. Does it capture the stories of heart, hope, redemption, and accidental murders of Dillon, Texas? Let’s find out as I’ve returned from the ashes for a new track-by-track review.

1. White Rabbits “Percussion Gun” – Great song, terrible video. I love an album which bursts out of the gates from the get-go and the percussive elements in “Percussion Gun” achieves just that. The energy from this six-piece band matches the feel of a Friday night game; however, the video barely matches the energy of a JV scrimmage. Actually, the video would have been fine had the editing not included extremely random shots of the upcoming season which took away from the fine shooting of the band.

2. Heartless Bastards “Sway” – Not my favorite track, not my favorite band, but there is something strangely magnetic about Erika Wennerstrom’s vocals.

3. A. A. Bondy “Killed Myself When I Was Young” – I’m unfamiliar with A. A. Bondy’s work but if you love folk singer-songwriters, add this song to your library. It builds up, I promise.

4. Augustana “Fire” – Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing between male and female vocals. I made this mistake when I thought some dude sang some new dance tune named “Believe” in 1998. It was months before I realized it was Cher. Anyway, this is one of the tunes I had to double-check to see who was singing. I mean, yes, another confession, I’ve belted Augustana’s “Boston” several times in my life but “Fire” is where I draw the line. Too weak, even for me.

5. Jakob Dylan “Something Good This Way Comes” – A simple track from the man forever known as the frontman of The Wallflowers, the son of Bob Dylan. Lukewarm.

6. Band of Skulls “I Know What I Am” – Formerly featured in our “Track of the Day” series, Jaime had enjoyed this song aside from its “Hotel, Taco Bell” rhyme. I’ll have to agree and am glad they are on a soundtrack that better fits their style. *cough, New Moon, cough*

7. John Doe “The Meanest Man In The World” – Johnny Cash-ish, yes?

8. The Avett Brothers “If It’s the Beaches” – This song is a throwback to season two when Landry headed to Tyra’s house before the game. The Avett Brothers have a knack for pulling on my heartstrings with their sweet, sappy lyrics and this is no exception. Because c’mon y’all, Tyra has to end up with nerdy ol’ Landry!

9. AM – “What You Hide” – I have never heard of AM before but he’s apparently had many of his song featured in television shows. Wikipedia said so, y’all. Not gonna lie though, this song does absolutely nothing for me.

10. Sufjan Stevens “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” – Even if you’re not church attending folk, you have to appreciate this hymn. Simplicity, when done correctly, is much more beautiful than the most elaborate, complex work of art. Sufjan Stevens treats the timeless piece with respect with minimalistic instrumentation. You know the fictional town of Dillion, Texas is probably located in the Bible Belt so you know this is fitting for the soundtrack.

11. Fink “This is the Thing” – Poor ol’ Matt Saracen with the aging grandmother. This song played in an episode in season three, as he drove to his mother’s house, an admittance that he could no longer hold everything together on his own. Something about these lyrics that seem perfect for the situation: And the things that keep us apart keep me alive and / The things that keep me alive keep me alone.

12. W. G. Snuffy Walden “Friday Night Lights Title” – There’s not many television shows with great intro themes anymore. In fact, many popular shows have completely done away with intros, simply leading in with a quick flash of the title, as if to say, “duh, you know what show this is, let’s get on with it.” Not Friday Night Lights. They know this song is an integral part of the success of this show. I am not kidding you, every time I’ve fired up FNL from a DVD or my DVR, I sit through the theme song and get goose bumps. Not just because I’m seconds away from one of my most favorite shows but because those forty-six seconds somehow summarize everything this show is. If you love this show, you understand why. I mean, take a look at the internet and the countless inquiries of who penned the song and where it’s available. So, to those that always thought it was another Explosions in the Sky gem, it’s not. It’s W. G. Snuffy Walden. Mystery solved.

Considering the track list from the last Friday Night Lights television soundtrack, Volume 2 delivers a lot more quality, cohesive tracks. Is this something I’d pop in my car stereo if I went on a trip across the West Texas plains? Yes but not without skipping a few songs here and there. I do know one thing. I’m stoked for the new season and look forward to hearing some of these songs accompany one of my favorite fictional towns and their high school football team this year.