Adventures in iTunes land Days 2&3

I'm suddenly realizing how little time I actually have to listen to music. I hate imposing my song choice on my office mates so I couldn't really listen at work yesterday. Fortunately I have the office to myself today and lots of time to kill. This second listening installment included the rest of Acoustic Soul (India.Arie), Add it Up ( Violent Femmes), Adoration live in concert (Richard Smallwood), Aerosmith (Areosmith), and Aftermath [US] (The Rolling Stones),

The first three albums I was already very familiar with. Add It Up is my go to road trip album, and the Richard Smallwood I listen to when ever I need uplifting. It had been years since I listened to the entire Acoustic Soul album. And like with Aaliyah I understood why. The more I listen to my R&B albums the better I understand why it has such a smaller audience than Pop or Rock. It always puzzled me that a style of music that I enjoyed so much wasn't well known among the other students at Berklee. I think I get it now... it's boring music. Don't get me wrong I still love it but listening to it, really listening to it, I had a hard time resisting the urge to skip to the songs on the album I like. India.Aire in particular started to grate on me. Oddly enough her songwriting reminded me a lot of my own music, but it reminded of the things I don't like about my music. The lyrics seemed divorced from the music, fitting awkwardly into the songs melody and meter. The interludes/dedications were especially awkward, and she loves, LOVES using cliches. I'd like to think that you can use cliches as a clever lyrical device, but in all honesty it merely sounds (for lack of a better word) cliched. Thankfully it ended on a high note with "Wonderful". That is the kind of up beat R&B that I like. Everything grooves, sitting nicely with all the other elements. You can't help but bob your head and sing along. So props to her for starting strong and ending strong, even if the middle was a little weak.

My new discoveries today are Areosmith (1973 ), their first album, and Aftermath (1966) by the Rolling Stones. I love Aerosmith, at least I loved this album. It's fun to listen to, bluesy, souful, a sound that I think is uniquely American. Especially compared to Aftermath in which I heard more of a folk influence. Aerosmith also reminds me of Boston. It is the perfect bar music, and while Boston isn't much for flashy night clubs, it is definitely a drink and listen to music kind of town. This album would be the perfect backdrop to one of those evenings. As I listen I'm beginning to think that I'm an old soul when it comes to Rock. I like how raw it sounds. Everything you hear today is so polished it's sterile. There's no bite to it. This stuff on the other hand is messy, and there's a freedom and passion expressed in it that is intoxicating, it sucks you in. Or maybe I am just responding to the similarities between this music and the Blues and R&B that I'm so familiar with. My previous knowledge of the Rolling Stones is as a cover band essentially. The only songs I knew by them were covers of R&B tunes, which I believe they are greatly influenced by. It's a little grittier, but at the heart of it is good old rythym and blues, which is just fine by me.
All in all today and yesterday were great listening days. We'll see how many more of those there are by the end of this.