Put Salem in your Stereo

    I've been neglecting this look at the exciting double disc release of Stereo Salem for far too long. Part of the problem, to be honest, is it's a rather daunting task. We are talking about two CDs stuffed to the digital gills with a broad cross section of what the local scene has to offer.

    And really, that's the most impressive part of the endeavor. Salem Soundwave is the new non-profit behind the CD release. They have deep ties with Culture Shock, Radio Free Salem and the Salem arts community writ large. It's gratifying to see how they've reached out to every part of the community to create the compilations. It's not just about getting rock, pop and hip hop on the same album, but making sure that every age group and culture is represented.

    The Funhouse Strippers and The Falcon both have tracks in the compilation. Good ones, of course, but there's plenty here new to me. The level of production is also uniformly high. An appropriate amount of attention has been made to making sure each track fits in with the rest. There isn't a single song that stounds out for reasons of recording quality.

    It would be tempting to give you my track by track impression of the whole set, but I'm not sure I could do a fair job of it. I don't think I could give you a very accurate genre breakdown of each act, even if I wanted to. I've never been good with all the various sub-labels that get thrown down. My knowledge certainly isn't vast enough to do justice to everything contained here. Even broad categories like rock, pop and hip-hop are problematic. For me it's a philosophic problem. For to attach a label is to place a limitation without benefit.

    That being the case, I won't try very hard to tell you what's here and what isn't except to say this: as you listen to the CDs you will contantly be struck by a song requiring you to investigate the artist. And it will happen so many times you'll keep forgetting the names and having to check again. So do yourself a favor and check out the website at salemsoundwave.org, ask for a copy at one of our fine local record shops, keep a post-it of what struck you most on your monitor and make a real effort to go see these bands live.

Well, that sucked.

Whelp, I haven't updated for a while, have I? Truth be told, I've had a pretty sucky summer. I graduated from Willamette University in May and since then I've been on the job hunt. But a job, as it would happen any job, continues to elude me. This was all well and good through May. I sold a bunch of stuff I wasn't using. I even parted with some of my more valuable vidja games (my original copy of Final Fantasy VII sold for almost $90 alone!).

That was enough to squeak me through June. By July I was forced to leave my apartment and move into my parents' garage. I kept looking for work as my financial situation continued to deteriorate. I literally have nothing left in my checking account. My credit lines are maxed out and very close to going into default. I'm pretty much boned at this point.

These financial issues are what have kept me from updated the blog lately. I've not been able to afford to go to any shows. I've also settled into something of a depression for the last couple months. I just did not have a good exit strategy for my post college existence. Once the financial aid dried up I was pretty much already at the brink. My graduate school plans did not pan out due, in part, to situation outside my control (professor screwed me over). All my friends from school went back where they came from so there isn't even anyone local to comiserate with...

Right now I'm trying to get my head on strait again. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that living at home again is going to be a longer term solution than originally planned. My sister Ashley is scheduled to go back to school, this time in Portland, later this month so at the least I'll have the chance to get into the house propper before the weather gets really cold.

This also means I can accept a shittier job than originally envisioned. So if you know of anything in the Salem area, drop me a line. In the meantime I've got a couple projects to distract me from my world crashing in around me. First, I am now thrice and uncle:

Lillian is almost a week old and very adorable. 

I've also just started a band with my little sister Melanie called Weapons of the Future. We recorded a cover of a song written by one of her friends just today. I played the guitar on the track posted to MySpace. I'm also still planning on delivering that Stereo Salem review I promised.

Hope you all had a better Summer than me! Until next time...