Pavement – “Spit on a Stranger”

When I’m working, I need something that will capture my attention but not demand it — Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger” somehow hits on the right side of the line: It’s something rare. A catchy melody and evocative guitar work define this song, and over the past few days of working, I’ve not been able to turn it off.

Good fusion jazz is invaluable in my work routine. It’s upbeat, poppy, but not annoyingly so — and there’s not a chance it’ll lull me to sleep with soothing sounds.

My Bloody Valentine – “Soon”

My Bloody Valentine flows perfectly into the background when I’m hammering out a web page: Not only does it help me keep my focus, it drowns out any distraction — for obvious reasons. Their patented wall of guitar noise provides that impenetrable density you need when you just need to get over that last hurdle in your project.

Stereolab – “Wow and Flutter”

I love Stereolab. Do I need more reason? Also, this video is really weird. Check it out.

Tortoise – TNT

TNT is easily one of the greatest post-rock albums of all time, and its inclusion couldn’t be contingent upon a single song. It’s energetic, innovative, experimental — but more than that, it’s listenable, and it can sit in the background without much to trouble you. Don’t make your first listen of TNT too distracted, though — give it a few spins before you try to work alongside it, and you’ll find it’s considerably easier.

Ben Folds Five – “Kate”

There’s something very nice about singing while you work — I suppose this song might not work so well if you work in an office, but when I’m working at home, there are few things better than being able to sing along with some Ben Folds Five while I work.

“21st Century Ghost,” posted below, is a fairly simple, straightforward pop track, but don’t mistake that for a lack of quality: there’s something nice about the guitar pop this Vancouver-based band is producing.

The Feminists — “21st Century Ghost” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/02-21st-century-ghost.mp3]

The Feminists online

It’s 2008 now, and still, there are several songs from the never-finished concept album that have yet to see the light of day. One of those, until sometime in the range of one month ago, was “Superfriend,” a track that had gained some notoriety on Weezer fan message boards, particularly the Rebel Weezer Board and the Rivers Correspondence Board, which I read voraciously but kept my posting to a minimum, for better or worse.

At any rate, the track quickly became a thing of legend, with only a very select few having actually heard it — and the track certainly wasn’t floating around the mass of information that is the Internet (or bootleg trading circles, for that matter) for easy listening purposes.

It’s remarkable, really, how a single song can become so ingrained in select portions of a band’s fanbase when a very small number of said fans have actually heard it: Such was the case with “Superfriend.”

But now, with the release of Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, an anthology of what are essentially unreleased Weezer tracks, “Superfriend” has made its way to the ears of those fans with alacrity. Has it somehow lost part of what made it special? Hardly, but after almost seven years, it’s hard to remain excited about an unreleased album (well, maybe Smile would prove an active exception — and, perhaps with good reason, Songs From the Black Hole has been called Weezer’s Smile,) let alone a single song.

However, after finally hearing the fabled song, I wonder whether the hype was worth it, or if I would have been better off hearing the track during the prime of my Weezer obsession. Still, there’s no going back now, and “Superfriend” is indicative of a bygone era of songwriting by one of the masters of the craft, Rivers Cuomo.

Despite whatever stumbling blocks may have cropped up — the band’s 2001 self-titled album, affectionately dubbed The Green Album, 2002’s Maladroit, and 2005’s Make Believe (complete with annoying singles but tracks that were not bad — not great, but not bad) may reflect a change in Weezer, but even I’m looking forward to the yet-to-come sixth album, set to be produced by Rick Rubin.

Matthew Montgomery is the MusicGeek.org editor in chief. He can be contacted at matt@musicgeek.org.

This album is good, sure, but it’s really not something worth listening to repeatedly. There’s nothing innovative here, just the usual pop-rock stylings that became popular recently after the the fall of post-hardcore. Between the Trees, for their debut release, have written an album that’s a good listen, this isn’t in doubt. The Story and the Song is far from terrible, and given some time, the band has a fair chance and a reasonable amount of talent, which they’ve displayed here, to create something of some real, undeniable worth.

Matthew Montgomery

It’s obvious that this is a band with some experience behind them — and with Jason Gleason, previously of Further Seems Forever, there’s some strong evidence to back up such a thought. ActionReaction displays more than just a modicum of rock know-how, much to their benefit.

3 is the Magic Number, though, fails to really capture anything magic, so to speak. While moderately catchy and explorative, ActionReaction’s first full-length is somewhat lacking. The problem, it seems, is over-production; it doesn’t much feel like a band playing the songs so much as three strangers playing arranged pieces. To their detriment, they fail to really mesh as a group, which may or may not be of their own doing.

This album has definite potential, but potential only goes so far in the listening experience. ActionReaction hasn’t clearly failed, though — the songwriting is quality, the performances are quality — but they never really mesh in an appealing manner.

Even still, ActionReaction is definitely on the lookout for — the lack of the proper cooperative atmosphere hasn’t stopped certain music from gaining popularity in the past. And, if there’s only one thing ActionReaction has potential for (it seems they have much more potential, though,) it’s the possibility that they’ll gain even slight amounts of popularity.

The latest — and true debut, excepting a short tour EP — from ActionReaction, 3 is the Magic Number, is a glossy work of pop-rock with an element of careful production. ActionReaction’s attention to detail is apparent, what with a fair amount of meticulous timing and instrumentation.

It’s obvious that this is a band with some experience behind them — and with Jason Gleason, previously of Further Seems Forever, there’s some strong evidence to back up such a thought. ActionReaction displays more than just a modicum of rock know-how, much to their benefit.

3 is the Magic Number, though, fails to really capture anything magic, so to speak. While moderately catchy and explorative, ActionReaction’s first full-length is somewhat lacking. The problem, it seems, is over-production; it doesn’t much feel like a band playing the songs so much as three strangers playing arranged pieces. To their detriment, they fail to really mesh as a group, which may or may not be of their own doing.

This album has definite potential, but potential only goes so far in the listening experience. ActionReaction hasn’t clearly failed, though — the songwriting is quality, the performances are quality — but they never really mesh in an appealing manner.

Even still, ActionReaction is definitely on the lookout for — the lack of the proper cooperative atmosphere hasn’t stopped certain music from gaining popularity in the past. And, if there’s only one thing ActionReaction has potential for (it seems they have much more potential, though,) it’s the possibility that they’ll gain even slight amounts of popularity.

The latest — and true debut, excepting a short tour EP — from ActionReaction, 3 is the Magic Number, is a glossy work of pop-rock with an element of careful production. ActionReaction’s attention to detail is apparent, what with a fair amount of meticulous timing and instrumentation.

It’s obvious that this is a band with some experience behind them — and with Jason Gleason, previously of Further Seems Forever, there’s some strong evidence to back up such a thought. ActionReaction displays more than just a modicum of rock know-how, much to their benefit.

3 is the Magic Number, though, fails to really capture anything magic, so to speak. While moderately catchy and explorative, ActionReaction’s first full-length is somewhat lacking. The problem, it seems, is over-production; it doesn’t much feel like a band playing the songs so much as three strangers playing arranged pieces. To their detriment, they fail to really mesh as a group, which may or may not be of their own doing.

This album has definite potential, but potential only goes so far in the listening experience. ActionReaction hasn’t clearly failed, though — the songwriting is quality, the performances are quality — but they never really mesh in an appealing manner.

Even still, ActionReaction is definitely on the lookout for — the lack of the proper cooperative atmosphere hasn’t stopped certain music from gaining popularity in the past. And, if there’s only one thing ActionReaction has potential for (it seems they have much more potential, though,) it’s the possibility that they’ll gain even slight amounts of popularity.

The latest — and true debut, excepting a short tour EP — from ActionReaction, 3 is the Magic Number, is a glossy work of pop-rock with an element of careful production. ActionReaction’s attention to detail is apparent, what with a fair amount of meticulous timing and instrumentation.

It’s obvious that this is a band with some experience behind them — and with Jason Gleason, previously of Further Seems Forever, there’s some strong evidence to back up such a thought. ActionReaction displays more than just a modicum of rock know-how, much to their benefit.

3 is the Magic Number, though, fails to really capture anything magic, so to speak. While moderately catchy and explorative, ActionReaction’s first full-length is somewhat lacking. The problem, it seems, is over-production; it doesn’t much feel like a band playing the songs so much as three strangers playing arranged pieces. To their detriment, they fail to really mesh as a group, which may or may not be of their own doing.

This album has definite potential, but potential only goes so far in the listening experience. ActionReaction hasn’t clearly failed, though — the songwriting is quality, the performances are quality — but they never really mesh in an appealing manner.

Even still, ActionReaction is definitely on the lookout for — the lack of the proper cooperative atmosphere hasn’t stopped certain music from gaining popularity in the past. And, if there’s only one thing ActionReaction has potential for (it seems they have much more potential, though,) it’s the possibility that they’ll gain even slight amounts of popularity.

The latest — and true debut, excepting a short tour EP — from ActionReaction, 3 is the Magic Number, is a glossy work of pop-rock with an element of careful production. ActionReaction’s attention to detail is apparent, what with a fair amount of meticulous timing and instrumentation.

It’s obvious that this is a band with some experience behind them — and with Jason Gleason, previously of Further Seems Forever, there’s some strong evidence to back up such a thought. ActionReaction displays more than just a modicum of rock know-how, much to their benefit.

3 is the Magic Number, though, fails to really capture anything magic, so to speak. While moderately catchy and explorative, ActionReaction’s first full-length is somewhat lacking. The problem, it seems, is over-production; it doesn’t much feel like a band playing the songs so much as three strangers playing arranged pieces. To their detriment, they fail to really mesh as a group, which may or may not be of their own doing.

This album has definite potential, but potential only goes so far in the listening experience. ActionReaction hasn’t clearly failed, though — the songwriting is quality, the performances are quality — but they never really mesh in an appealing manner.

Even still, ActionReaction is definitely on the lookout for — the lack of the proper cooperative atmosphere hasn’t stopped certain music from gaining popularity in the past. And, if there’s only one thing ActionReaction has potential for (it seems they have much more potential, though,) it’s the possibility that they’ll gain even slight amounts of popularity.

Matthew Montgomery