Graduate degree…accomplished!

As I get older and go through fairly common or average life experiences (e.g. marriage, graduating, watching TV shows, etc.), I find it is harder and harder not to write in outright clichés. Yet here I am, saying goodnight to the weekend of my graduation from the University of Iowa with a Master of Arts degree in Library and Information Science, and I am dumbfounded by how fast the last two years of my life flew.

This weekend has brought some noteworthy realizations to the surface for me. While I have enjoyed the chance to be in school again and learn new skills and new ways to think about information in a society that is unwittingly ruled by information, I’m more vividly aware of the support system I have in my life. There is a network of humans that care for me very strongly, are proud of me and love me, and true awareness of this is tremendously overwhelming. If I had the inclination, I could expound on the grand theories of the field of librarianship, but I think as I put the final touches on my institutional education, I want to use this space to say thank you to some of the heavy hitters. This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if you’ve contributed even the slightest bit to my education and even more so to my life in the last two years, know that I am grateful.

I want to start by thanking my parents and my grandparents. You have been mentally and financially supportive during my time in school, and without your support, I would be in a far worse position than I currently find myself. But even more so, your care and admiration towards me is enormous. It means a lot to make you four proud, and I was overjoyed to share in this celebration with you. Thank you.

I’d like to thank my in-laws. You both have been an emotional support system to both Colleen and me for a long time now, and it’s been a pleasure and a comfort to be able to get to know you both better and hang out with you. Living this close has been a blessing for Colleen and me, and it will be a tough adjustment to be farther away. A patio date at Red’s is on us before we go. Thank you.

To a few specific classmates who most likely won’t stumble upon this post, you helped me through some fairly harrowing class assignments and experiences. I appreciated your help then and I certainly appreciate it now that I’m done. This degree was not all fun and games and your input and advise on homework and projects helped a great deal. Thank you.

To those not mentioned, I apologize for not mentioning you by name, but I garnered so much emotional and mental support from many people I wasn’t expecting these last two years. Thank you.

Finally, to my beautiful, caring, and eternally-understanding wife Colleen. There is no way I could have accomplished this without you. You have this uncanny ability to be exactly what I need, exactly when I need it. Whether it’s a chance to vent about a frustrating assignment or day at work, or a drive out to Kent or a walk to Red’s, or simply a night in watching Conan, you constantly know what I need and how to provide it. It has been, and continues to be, my goal to do the same for you. You’ve also kept a wonderfully clean and comforting home for us these last two years and it has been an immense blessing to me. I’m excited to be more available to help with the general upkeep of our life together, aside from just balancing the checkbook. Dibs on cleaning the fishbowl from here on out. I love you so much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. The minute you decide school is your next step is when I get the cookbook out and start learnin’. You won’t cook another meal until you graduate…probably.

I am very happy and very proud to be finished with this phase of my life. On to the next, and thank you again to all who supported me in one way or another. You have blessed me beyond what you know, and I am forever appreciative of it. Now go and support your local library.

-Jon

The Voice, Season 2. Pre-finale.

Needless to say: MASSIVE SPOILERS.

We are literally minutes away from the finale of Season 2 of The Voice, hands down the best reality show on TV. We find out who wins tonight. Here are the finalists:

• Jermaine Paul (Team Blake)
• Chris Mann (Team Christina)
• Juliet Simms (Team Cee Lo)
• Tony Lucca (Team Adam)

This has been a really interesting, if far more cheesy, season than Season 1. The initial thing I liked about this show is that it felt pretty new, like the judges, the contestants, even Carson, everyone was just flying by the seat of their pants and figuring out how to do this new show as they went along. It added a weird charm to the show. This season feels  far more “put together.” Cheesier. More life situations have been played out for more drama and emotion. Jamar is the best example of this. His entire run of the show was The HIV+ Contestant. Sure, the guy had a good voice, but holy cow the show, the coaches (especially his coach Cee Lo) and himself just kept dwelling on his backstory. This show is about finding the best voice from the contestants, NOT finding who has the most inspirational story. It was awful.

And I’ve got beef with the coaches. Mainly Christina. She loves this show. Especially the fact that she is on it. I honestly don’t watch any television that features a more self-centered celebrity. Sure, she became famous because she’s got some pretty spectacular pipes, but wow is she in love with herself. Any chance she gets, she gets on stage, she starts singing, she is constantly relating contestants’ experiences or performances back to her own experience and talks about herself. It gets redundant so quickly. She also talks longer than any other coach and wastes precious live minutes during the show. It’s pretty awful.

Now to the finalists. I have a clear favorite and a clear worst, but here’s a quick run down on all four.

Jermaine Paul:

• This cat can sing. But he can’t win. The dude has got an amazing voice, has powerfully covered some tough songs (and made some awful songs listenable, Exhibit A: “I Believe I Can Fly”), and seems to have a connection with fans enough to carry some voting weight. But definitely not enough. He just doesn’t seem to be that much of a personality. Nobody has lost their minds over any of his performances, they’ve all just been steady and consistent. Which is not the sign of the winner of this show. As much as consistency is a really great characteristic to have, it won’t win you The Voice.

Chris Mann:

• Maybe the best finalist voice when looked at technically. None of the other three finalists can hit notes or vibrato like he can. Nobody can sound like Josh Groban like he can. But at the end of the day, that’s about it. His covers of non-operatic tunes were pretty lame. I’m thinking specifically of the Coldplay performance. I remember thinking, “I would never choose to listen to this over the actual song.” Not a good sign. So the dude has got chops, but he needs to go flex them on Broadway. Pop music doesn’t need another Josh Groban.

Juliet Simms:

• If Juliet does not win, I will lose what little faith in the Millennial Generation I have left. There is not one finalist who has the voice she’s got. She has it. Her performances have not all been perfect (“Stay With Me,” “Cryin’”), but when she is on, holy crap. She is on. “Roxanne” and “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” were absolute show stoppers. I wasn’t totally sold on her until “Roxanne” and it was all over from there. She made me a complete believer. Her James Brown cover just solidified it more. What’s funny is that she would’ve been here regardless of which coach she had chosen. She is just that good. Go Juliet.

Tony Lucca:

• Tony Lucca hit his peak during the battle rounds. Since then, he has consistently stayed forgettable, if not worse. And his cover of Britney was annoying as hell. I hate that that performance kept being referred to as daring and wild and crazy and risky. It was a doucher singing a crappy pop song in an “edgy” way. America ate it up and it’s regrettable. Equally as frustrating was his bluegrass cover of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems.” Tony, stop doing covers in an unconventional way that other artists have done first and coming off like you came up with it. People have been covering the Britney tune for years, and the Jay-Z performance was a cover of a cover. Covers of covers shouldn’t be done. Ultimately, what I dislike about Tony is that even more than Chris, he’s a one-dimensional singer. I hate to agree with Christina, but after the Peter Gabriel cover, her comments were dead on. Forgettable, one-note, not impressive. He has one vocal ad lib that he does in every. single. performance. It’s awful, it’s just him curving his voice up from a lower note to a higher note in a way that America hears and says “Wow look how much power he’s got!” It’s awful. If he was a better voice, I wouldn’t be so adamant against him, but there is no reason he should’ve gotten to the finals over Katrina. It makes me frustrated just thinking about it.

So I want Juliet to win. Duh. Now onto the coaches…

Blake:

• I like him. Sure, he’s a big time country guy, but he’s pretty funny. He also seems to have the most insightful things to say about the performers. In terms of technique and real advice and criticism, I think he offers the most to his teammates. They seem to benefit greatly from his coaching. Is he the best coach in terms of strategy? No way. He picked RaeLynn during the battle rounds for Pete’s sake. Terrible choice. But I still like him.

Christina:

• I’ve already expressed my contempt with Christina. She might have some pipes, but she clearly views every episode as an opportunity to talk longer and louder and with more vacuity. Oh, you’re sick tonight Christina? I had no idea, even though this is only the seventh time you’ve mentioned it in this one episode. I completely agree with Karlie Cooper’s assessment of Christina: Miss Piggy. Just unfunny.

Cee Lo:

• Gooooosh I love Cee Lo. But I think he’s an awful coach. The reason he (fingers crossed) will win this season is not because of his coaching prowess but because his two semi finalists were the best vocalists out of all of them. It didn’t matter if Jamar or Juliet got to the finals, it’s a Season 2 win for Team Cee Lo. That being said, I almost always enjoy what Cee Lo says, and more specifically, wears. And his white cat…just so great. Hilarious to see him stroking that cat like a black Ernst Blofeld. And his performance of “Dancing in the Street” was hands down the best performance by a coach in this entire season. Nobody tops Cee Lo.

Adam:

• I’m torn on this one. Adam is definitely the most strategic coach. He took a team that had no real stars and produced Katrina (she wins the Most Improved award for the entire season and absolutely should’ve been Adam’s finalist) and Tony Lucca. Tony’s persona was created strictly by song choice alone, and that is evidence of a damn strategic coach. Adam’s got that in the bag. But if Tony wins, I’ll be sad about the integrity of a show that allows a performer to win based solely on doing covers of covers. Tony does not deserve to win The Voice. He has most likely spent his career playing covers of covers in small bars with no fans. That’s where he belongs.

So who wins? I would be stunned if Jermaine or Chris won, even though they both have excellent voices. It will be a real shame if Tony wins, because he is absolutely least deserving of the award. All of my hopes and dreams are pinned on Juliet, and this finale is a lot more nerve-wracking than last year, considering that I want someone specific to win, whereas last year I just wanted Dia Frampton to lose. So three cheers for Juliet. Go Team Cee Lo.

Carson said “tharts.”

-Jon

Spring Music Preview 2012

Full article here! Rolling Stone has published their annual(?) Spring Music Preview. Seems a little late for a spring preview but whatever. There are like 15 albums that they cover, and I was only interested in these 4. Pretty weak season of music coming up, although seeing JM on this list makes the rest of it moot. Let’s get to it.

Jason Mraz – Love Is A Four Letter Word (4/17)

Eh. Notable only because Jason Mraz released one album almost 10 years ago that was really powerful and I was crazy about. Since then, he’s been forgettable to me. He fits into the reggae, island-flavored niche of pop music that is just slightly more radio-friendly than most of Jack Johnson’s latest work. But Mraz can sing like nobody’s business, so he’ll probably put out another album that’s nice to listen to but not worth really absorbing. We’ll see.

Norah Jones – Little Broken Hearts (5/01)

Each album she has released has stepped further and further away from her super-jazz infused debut album. Her last album didn’t even feel like a traditional “piano” album, which is what she really became famous for. This one promises to be even weirder. She’s been putting it together with Danger Mouse, who handles record production. They first worked on his joint album with Italian film score composer Daniele Luppi, where Norah did vocals on a few tracks. That was a weird album too, as most albums are with which Danger Mouse is involved. The dude is an multifaceted music genius. His influence on Norah’s already killer musical prowess promises to make for a compelling record.

Rufus Wainwright - Out Of The Game (5/01)

I used to listen to Rufus a lot more than I do now. His voice just sounds kind of forced and operatic which I don’t love. BUT this album was produced by Mark Ronson, and I tend to love most of what he does. Rufus also has said this album is a bit more poppy and radio-friendly so it might be a fun listen.

John Mayer - Born And Raised (5/22)

This is the one I’m really excited about. This is JM’s fifth studio album release, and his first spring/summer release. Each album up to now has had a fall release date, so I consume and digest his new music as winter is setting in. While this might not seem too consequential, I think it definitely has an impact on how the listener creates a musical home for the album in their head and heart.  I am so excited to get to know a new JM album as summer kicks off. Also as exciting, this is JM’s first legitimate foray into the country genre. I have not heard anything off the album yet, but JM has stressed that these songs have much more of a western Americana feel. I believe he has used the phrase “organic cowboy music” to describe the album. During the album creation, he helped design a new JM-signature Martin acoustic guitar that he used to write and record songs for the record. He is also wearing lots of cowboy hats in promo pictures lately. So who knows. I certainly don’t think he’s getting into the honky-tonk south-east version of pop country music that has been so popular for about 20 years, but since I haven’t listened to the record yet, I will save review and judgement until a few weeks after the album comes out.

Get a load of this…

Since I’ve moved my blog over here to WordPress, I’ve been trying to figure out how best to share things I find online. I use Google Reader as my RSS feed reader, and in the last few months they made a colossal error by switching the share function to sharing only via Google+. Before, you could click a share button on an item that came up in your Reader feed and you could have all your shared items displayed on another site, like a blog. Now, that sharing function is restricted to the Google+ social networking site, of which I am not a part. So I’ve been trying to figure out how best to share stuff I find interesting. And this is my solution.

Get a load of this… is the new blog I’m starting on WordPress. I had thought about just adding the items I want to share here on this blog, but that would dilute it just a little bit. With two blogs, I can funnel all my real writing into this blog here and designate all the random stuff for the other blog. It is my alternative to Tumblr, Twitter, Youtube, etc. all mixed into one. So go check it out.

-Jon

He’s back.

Damn. This is some deep, cold-blooded funk. 12 years later, you can’t rush genius.

-Jon

YES.

Best news in awhile.

From his Tumblr.

-Jon

undun

I’m annoyed at myself for jumping the gun on Top 5 Favorite Albums of 2011, because I have a new addition that easily breaks into the Top 3. It could be a contender for #1, depending on the ranking rationale I use. That’s for another post. Let me talk about this magnificent album.

undun is the 14th album release by The Roots, and this is the first one that I have really taken in, absorbed, analyzed, and that has really moved me. I begin to wonder if I’m moved most because of the content of the work or if they are all this good and I just need to dig deeper to find the gold. I’m assuming the latter.

This album is like The Wire set to music. Every piece you read about it will tell you this is The Roots’ first concept album, and so I feel obligated to say the same. Don’t let it scare you away though. It’s still an album with songs on it. Back to front, it describes a day in the life of fictional character Redford Stevens. Redford wakes up to his drug dealing existence and the day ends with his death. This is not light subject matter. But the way it is delivered is so powerful. This is exactly what rap needs to be. Real, intense, and there’s a weight to it. This isn’t an album dedicated to the excesses of the idealized rap life (see Watch The Throne). This is the story of so many inner-city youths viewed through the last day of this character’s life. Main vocalist Black Thought has said in press interviews for this album that he has had family members go through this whole ordeal. He managed to get out of the game before he was forced to completely surrender to it. The lyrics in these songs feel real because they are. These vocalists have witnessed tragic things on the streets of poor America and that translates well to these songs. This is heady material.

And it’s complemented so well by the music. De facto band leader ?uestlove has created sonic landscapes where people live and die on the whim of a bad decision. I listen to it and I feel transported to a scene and I watch this guy question his existence and fight to stay confident and stay alive. And holy cow it is beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, I love sampling in hip hop. But this album feels real because it’s original. This is a collection of real musicians making music in a studio without the use of a James Brown drum track that’s been chopped/screwed beyond all recognition. Really gorgeous sounds here.

I do want to point out the one brazen use of “sampling” here. I don’t even consider sampling because it’s the actual artist performing his song on this album and then interpolating it into something different. Sufjan Stevens begins the closing orchestral suite of the album by performing his tune of his album Michigan. The song is “Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou),” and while it is just a succession of four chords played on the piano, he becomes the sonic foundation for the rest of the suite. The first time I heard the whole thing played together, as the album closer, it nearly moved me to tears. I don’t know what ?uestlove has done, but he has taken an already beautiful song and transformed it into this otherworldly narrative that aurally describes this kid’s doomed existence. It’s insanely powerful.

So good for The Roots. It’s crazy that a band releases its best album after 20 years, let alone stay together after 20 years. I’m glad we still have artists who put out albums which can be aspired to by the rest of their entire genre.

-Jon