Guest Album Review: Alex Brubaker: Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI (review by David Ryan)

I meant to post this review for the CD release. Considering that that was over a month ago, I guess I dropped the ball. In any event, here is the first review that I got from my second album, Alex Brubaker Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI. It's from a good friend, Pastor David Ryan of Hopeland United Methodist Church. As a sidenote, if you've seen me play recently, I have added a song, Psalms, to my set, which was a song written for a performance at that church.

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you can get yours at:
cdbaby
itunes
amazon

If you'd like a physical copy and don't feel like ordering online (and I have no idea why amazon has them for $15?!), let me know!



To the review:

"

I became a fan of Alex Brubaker a few years ago when I heard him play at Ten Thousand Villages Cafe. What a delight his music was then...and now! After having almost worn out his previous CD, it was with great anticipation that I slipped his new release, "Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI" into my player. Once again, Alex does not disappoint! His music is thought provoking and easy to get lost in! While the Album may appear at first glance to be short at 6 songs, each song plays for a significant period. Don't worry - you get more than your money's worth!

The song Muddy jam has a great tempo beat to it - a constant underlying rhythm. I find this tune particularly great to have playing in my headphones for a long walk.

Ice Mountain, a repeat from his first CD receives a fresh treatment here. It's haunting melody takes you for a great hike in the mountains.

One of my personal favorites is track 3 - Revival. I'm not sure just what Alex had in mind here, but as a pastor, this tune puts me in mind of a spiritual revival. Its bright, happy and sassy.

Doppelganger is the next tune. When I listen to this i think about the times I have heard Alex play it live - and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Knowing Alex's love for *skiing and being in the snow, track 5, Snow Angel conjures up images of looking out the window as the first snow flakes start to fall in a night sky, getting into your winter wear and dashing out into the drifts to create your own snow angels just like when you were a kid. It's playful, romantic and fun.

I confess that I am not so much a fan of the harsher electric guitar sounds found in the last track, Phoenix, but if piercing electric guitar rifts are your thing - you will love this last song. Over all, "live at Muddy river" is a great addition to your listening library. It's great for making the miles go by on a long drive. It leaves you free to think or, at other times, takes your mind away from thinking and into a great guitar zone. Of course, seeing him perform live is even better! Alex is amazing to watch as he makes the music magic happen before your eyes! Listening to his CDs after you have seen him helps you appreciate the tunes even more!....David Ryan, pastor, Hopeland UMC.

"

*snowboarding

Objective Reasons Why Country Music Sucks (pt. 2)

Ah, another Tuesday. Another day jam packed with music’s distant cousin, country. It always has me thinking; I just don’t get this stuff. And if you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know this. For it’s a well-known fact that I abhor country music. I’ve mentioned it several times and even once wrote just about objective reasons why country music sucks (this is the sequel).

The response to that blog is interesting. It’s an anomaly of sorts. I’ve had friends tell me they liked it and agree, but that’s not out of the norm. The part that’s out of the norm is that out of roughly 7000 views on over 100 blog posts, as of today, it has over a thousand views. Over the past several months, it has consistently gotten well over a hundred views a month.

And I know those aren’t big numbers. I do this for fun. I enjoy writing and if others enjoy reading my writing, then great! But, I mean, I’ll only publish a few things a month; I just don’t have the time. There’s plenty to write about, but there are rocks to climb and snow-capped mountains and, well, writing just doesn’t motivate me the same way.

But out of only a handful of posts and a few thousand views, here’s what’s interesting:












This is a screenshot of some of the search criteria that has led people to view my blog. Again, the numbers are small, but statistically, they are significant. There’s an overwhelming response has come from others who have a similar distaste for the genre. It’s unfortunate, on one hand, that they’re not all searches for me; I guess I’m just not that popular! But a disdain for country music? That seems to get the fish biting!

So I thought I’d come up with some other rather objective reasons as to why country music sucks. As much as I’d love more views and higher viewership, mainly I just need to get this frustration out ..and I am really interested in seeing the metrics of this particular post compared to non-country bashing posts.

We’ll pick up from where the last blog left off:


4. Emotionless. Isn’t music about expression? That gives music dimension; it brings depth. If you’re trying to tell a story, tell it like you have a vested interest in it. If you’re angry, show it; if you’re upset, sound like you care; if you’re in love, sound like it. I’m listening to this stuff right now and, unless I focus on the words, the music, song to song, is all the same. I can’t derive any meaning from the inflection. There is no soul. These are just notes. And twangy notes at that; the worst kind.

Alternatives? Something folksy (isn’t that where country has its roots?), like Iron and Wine, where there’s dialogue and inflection and so much more organic emotion. Plus, Sam Beam's story telling is pretty great. Something folksy/rocky/experimental-ly like mewithoutYou, where there is real story-telling and the music is driven by emotion wrapped in metaphor. Or, for something completely different, Listener, for more of an emotive spoken word. You can feel the music with these. They don’t sound like some bloviating Texan corporate monolith. Feel!

5. It keeps trying to be mainstream Rock or Pop. Why?! At this point, it’s hard to tell that the genre is rooted in folk rather than rock or pop, based on much of what is mainstream. That leads to more emphasis on the hook, more emphasis on song structure, and more repetition. It’s a pretty universal idea that those formulas are what sell; that’s what’s done it for rock, pop, and everything else that has made it into the public conscience. Country is just exploiting these songwriting elements and making them more formulaic than they ever have been.

Alternatives? Real rock and real pop.

6. It pushes no boundaries. Music used to be about pushing boundaries; that’s what made it exciting. The stuff they play every Tuesday here at work is positively dull. There are different tempos and different keys, but nothing that makes you go Wow. The only thing new in country is that it can no longer survive as its own genre. Music isn’t about hiding behind the guise of another.

Alternatives? Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Not a personal favorite, but everything I’ve heard of theirs has been pushing boundaries. There’s innovation, texture, and depth. Plus, they’ve got a banjo; that should appeal to the country folk…



And I’ll stop with those three. Perhaps I’ll continue with more at another time. Again, these are generalizations, but I am trying desperately to be unbiased and objective.

Any other thoughts? I’d love to hear other arguments against …or even for country. It would be interesting to know what it is that doesn’t drive others away.