I Wonder What I’ll Do Today; I’ve Got a Feeling I’ll be Doing the Same Things All Over Again
Wednesday. Today I have been working on a presentation that I will be giving tomorrow to the combined sales and operations personnel of the region in which I represent. At first the Big Boss Lady asked me to give an updated version of the presentation I put together for our financial conference in March, but after reviewing my slides I realized that this just wasn't going to work. Since the division that I work for operates well outside our company's core competencies, many people have no idea what we do or what we are all about. The first presentation was designed for an audience who fell into this category. However, tomorrow's audience is exclusively made up of people within our group who would be completely bored with such an introductory approach to our region's state of business. I spoke with the Big Boss Lady this morning and related this issue to her, and she agreed that I should overhaul the presentation to make it more relevant to our peers. I kicked around a few ideas that I had, and she simply said to "go for it." She said that she was giving me free reign on this one and I could put together whatever I wanted. I am really kind of touched on the amount of trust and levity she has given me. I better really make this one good so I can get more of these types of opportunities in the future.
Today's music selection for the drive in was Monarch by Feist. I really enjoy Feist's recent release Let it Die, and after hearing that she has played a significant part in Broken Social Scene as well as being a former punk rocker, I was fairly curious about what her other stuff sounded like. So, I picked up Monarch and gave it a go. I have to say I like Let it Die better. Let it Die contains kind of a bit of fun that Monarch does not. On Let it Die, Feist seems to be enjoying herself more (as evidenced by her cover of an old Bee Gees tune Inside and Out). On Monarch, it seems to be all business. Monarch isn't bad by any means, it is just that after hearing Let it Die, I yearned to hear more of that side of Feist than the serious side presented on Monarch. Of course, since most Feist fans heard Monarch first, they probably make the opposite comparison and lament the loss of Feist's "serious artist persona." Anyway, I liked Monarch and enjoyed listening to it, but I would recommend picking up Let it Die first if you don't already have it. To me, it's the better album.
Finally, as a head's up to everyone out there, since I will be traveling to corporate headquarters tomorrow to attend this regional conference, I will not have access to a computer to be able to post for the next few days. I know, I've been missing a few posts lately, but I'll be back on Monday. Fight to hang on until then...
Today's music selection for the drive in was Monarch by Feist. I really enjoy Feist's recent release Let it Die, and after hearing that she has played a significant part in Broken Social Scene as well as being a former punk rocker, I was fairly curious about what her other stuff sounded like. So, I picked up Monarch and gave it a go. I have to say I like Let it Die better. Let it Die contains kind of a bit of fun that Monarch does not. On Let it Die, Feist seems to be enjoying herself more (as evidenced by her cover of an old Bee Gees tune Inside and Out). On Monarch, it seems to be all business. Monarch isn't bad by any means, it is just that after hearing Let it Die, I yearned to hear more of that side of Feist than the serious side presented on Monarch. Of course, since most Feist fans heard Monarch first, they probably make the opposite comparison and lament the loss of Feist's "serious artist persona." Anyway, I liked Monarch and enjoyed listening to it, but I would recommend picking up Let it Die first if you don't already have it. To me, it's the better album.
Finally, as a head's up to everyone out there, since I will be traveling to corporate headquarters tomorrow to attend this regional conference, I will not have access to a computer to be able to post for the next few days. I know, I've been missing a few posts lately, but I'll be back on Monday. Fight to hang on until then...
posted by john at 3:50 PM
4 Comments:
i'll have to give the two a listen again, but i definatly agree that let it die was much better, but isn't that the nature of the follow-up attempt?
John, I agree with you about early records often getting the loyal following... Ryan Adams still can't please fans that fell in love with Heartbreaker even though he's become a better songwriter, musician, etc. It's fans falling in love with the first effort, and then hoping it will happen again with the next. Feist did a much better job with Let It Die. Although I played it a bit much and now steer clear. It took no effort to like it immediately, and so there tends to be nothing left to find in in. I got it, and now I'm tired of it... But she's got a great voice for sure. I'm happy she's back doing stuff with BSS. Did you check out 7/4 (shoreline) from their new album?
my new fave bss song is "It's all gonna break", last song on the new one...
Hello Elle and welcome- I agree that the nature of the follow-up album should be progressive and that each subsequent album after the first should be an improvement on its predecessors, however, this does not always seem to be the case. A musician friend of mine theorizes that this is because a band has years to write, polish, and select their best songs for their first album, while for the second release they have less than a year to come up with 10 more songs that are just as good. Some bands/artists can do it and put out amazing follow-ups. Some put out lackluster second attempts and fall by the wayside. To me, that's one of the true marks of a great band: can they continue to be great?
Hello SLG- I think it is a fine line that bands/artists must walk. They have to progress and change or risk being accused of one-trick ponies only capable of putting out one kind of sound. However, if they change too much, then the fans accuse them of selling out.
I have a lot of albums like you mentioned. I absolutely loved them, played them to death, and now I don't ever listen to them. I still like them, but I just kinda burned out on them.
I'm listening to Broken Social Scene as I am writing this. I like it. I'll do a discussion of it this week for sure.
Post a Comment
<< Home