18 Jan 2015
Thanks to my wonderful future in-laws, we found ourselves in possession of a really awesome Sonos Playbar. In our new living room, we had been using the TV speakers of our new Samsung HDTV for our audio, whether via the TV or when playing music via the Apple TV or Pandora on the TV.
It was fine. Or maybe slightly less than fine. Not nearly as good as the surround sound setup we had in our condo (which isn’t a good fit for our living room). Certainly not good enough to use to play music while making food in the kitchen, or having a little party on the first floor.
We had jokingly asked for a Playbar, mostly since I had convinced myself that I would get one for myself for my birthday. Well, Merry Christmas, we got one six months early.
Let’s start with the handful of cons:
- The price. It’s expensive. It’s really nice, but that doesn’t make it not expensive.
- It doesn’t come with a mount. I was sort of astounding it doesn’t come with a mount. Now, the mount isn’t all that expensive, but for what you pay, you’d expect that to be included.
- No Apple Airplay support. It’d be awesome if it acted as an Airplay receiver so you could throw any old iOS/Mac audio right at it without having to turn on the Apple TV.
There are a lot of pros:
- Integrated apps. For things like Pandora, or SiriusXM, or Amazon music, or Spotify, you just plug in your info and then you can manage the thing via the Sonos app. And it works quite well. You can control it from almost anywhere in the house.
- The sound. It sounds great. Really great. Much better than TV speakers, and good enough that I’m not sure we’ll rush to add surround sound to our living room. It’s been great watching movies and Netflix and listening to music.
- It looks good. Our TV is mounted on a corner mount, so mounting the Sonos wasn’t easy. I had to buy a soundbar mount that mounts to the TV mount, and then mount the Sonos mount to it. It took a bit of work to get it working, and I think we nearly dropped our TV, but in the end, it looks really nice mounted right below the TV.
- It’s expandable. We like the Sonos enough that I may get another speaker (like a Play:1) and be able to control them all simultaneously.
For the Sonos, you’re paying a premium, and there’s not a lot of discounts available. So you need to really want one (or have some really nice family members). But, so far, it feels like it’s been worth the money.
31 Dec 2014
The New Pornographers—Brill Bruisers
My favorite song off my favorite album of the year. By one of my favorite bands of all time. Who put on one of my favorite concerts of the year (even if it was in one of my least favorite venues—House of Blues). That’s a lot of superlatives.
But this album deserves it. It’s not The New Pornographers from Twin Cinema or Mass Romantic, but that was 10 years ago. Music has moved forward. This is Twin Cinema re-imagined. And “Brill Bruisers” encompasses that in spades.
The big hooky guitars, straight up power pop sound, the “ba ba” backing harmonies that fill every crevice of the song, this is straight up sugary pop music that makes your ears happy. There’s not an ounce of this song that isn’t completely wrung dry for every possible bit of joy it can offer. And it all lands in a tidy 3 minutes.
30 Dec 2014
Spoon—They Want My Soul
Spoon’s album (also titled They Want My Soul) was easily one of the best albums of the year, with amazing song after amazing song. There were three or four songs I could have picked in this spot. In the end, it was always going to be “Do You” or “They Want My Soul”.
“They Want My Soul” is unmistakably Spoon. From the moment you hear the opening line, you know it’s Spoon. The layered build, with each of the first few verses adding instrumentation, just adds to it’s catchiness. The lyrics, in typical Spoon fashion, are dense and intelligent, but you’ll still catch yourself signing along with the chorus by the end of the song.
In many years, this would be my favorite song of the year. And probably my favorite album of the year. Just not this year.
29 Dec 2014
Foxygen—How Can You Really
This is such a wonderful little 60s song, an amazing pop gem that gets in your head and will last for days. You’ll play it over and over again, and you’ll pick up on the tempo changes and marvel at the instrumentation. It’s just an outright amazing song that will make you want to check out more Foxygen.
Don’t. Just stop here and listen to this song over and over again and be happy. Really, I’m warning you.
This song though. So wonderful.
28 Dec 2014
Tokyo Police Club—Argentina (Parts I, II, and III)
At almost 9 minutes, this is not your typical Tokyo Police Club in length. But it’s a pastiche of the various styles that Tokyo Police Club have introduced over their past few albums. You’ve got the driving drum beat, sing songy vocal harmonies, hand claps, synths, and the really ragged, fast guitars that make up their sound.
It sounds like a lot; it sounds overwhelming. It’s not. It’s a fun continuum of a pop songs that take you through the hunt for a relationship. Tokyo Police Club make danceable pop music that you can tell your friends is rock music. Isn’t that all you really need?
27 Dec 2014
Alvvays—Archie, Marry Me
Alvvays fuzzy pop sound is so great because it’s tough to place in an era. This song could have come out in the 90s and MTV would have put it in the Buzz Bin. Timelessness can elevate a song from just being a fun sing along, and I think that is happening here. When Molly Rankin starts singing over a bit of “wall of sound” guitars, you can sense her longing.
This is a song that gets stuck in your head and doesn’t let go.
25 Dec 2014
Haerts—Wings
You might argue that this isn’t a 2014 release, since it debuted on an EP in 2013, and may actually have debuted in 2012, but whatever. It was on album in 2014, and that’s when I heard it.
Haerts (or HAERTS or HAerts or HaerTS … ) are from Brooklyn. They are a conduit for the vocals of lead singer Nini Fabi, and man, is that a good place to be as a band. This is just a gorgeous, shimmery song that sort of builds up, and feels like it’s going to take off, but never quite does. That’s not a knock; it’s not easy to have a song that sounds like it is perpetually building, and Haerts do a great job of keeping the song growing.
“Wings” is a song built to carry Fabi’s voice, and it does a remarkable job. Every time I hear this song, I go back and listen to it a few more times, and it never wears out its welcome.
24 Dec 2014
We Were Promised Jetpacks—Night Terror
We Were Promised Jetpacks possess one of the best band names in music, as well as a sing-along, arena rock sound that makes their live shows a blast. “Night Terror” branches out a bit from WWPJ’s normal sound, with a funkier low end, and much darker sound than they usually create. The lyrics of the song add a bit to the paranoia that the song tries to create. It’s still unmistakably WWPJ (you’ll never miss the Scottish brogue), but it’s a nice expansion of their music.
23 Dec 2014
Chris Staples—Dark Side of the Moon
This song kept popping into my life over 2014. I’d hear it on a podcast, it’d linger, and then it’d drift out of my mind (because the album wasn’t out yet). As the album got closer, it’d pop up on another podcast or on satellite radio, linger a bit longer, and then drift off again.
A quiet song, with really only the guitar and vocals prevalent until about 80 seconds in, the arrangement really focuses the song on the bittersweet lyrics of being a parent and passing your love on down to your child, who’s going to repeat the cycle. At just over three minutes, the song doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s a pretty, sweet song that, if it catches you just right, might leave you a little misty thinking about your family.