never thought i'd need so many people

Slowly but surely, indie bands are getting bigger.

At first, there was Broken Social Scene. They had a very cluttered sound, but it worked. There were about 12 people in the group, and I will hopefully see all of them come October 20th. If nothing else, the sound requires a great number of people.

However, something bugs me about other bands that pull this. Architecture in Helsinki has 8 people, and I can't help but wonder if one guy's there just to play the triangle every other song. Polyphonic Spree... well, they're just fucking creepy.

The worst offender would have to be I'm From Barcelona, however. Jesus. There's a guy who writes the songs. He has a decent-sized band to play the songs. And then he has about 23 of his friends sing the choruses. It screams gimmick, and if I didn't like the album so much I would hate the group. Also, I hate how the lead guy looks. Still, the album will most definitely be on my top ten. It's that good.

I like that people are breaking the mold of a regular rock group: two guitars, one bass guitar, and drums. Hell, I even like 2-people groups like Mates of State, The Black Keys, and The White Stripes. I just think that people like the Barcelonians (who are actually from Sweden) are taking it a bit too far.

requiem for gloria

"You only live a day, but it's brilliant anyway." -Elliott Smith

This past Monday, Gloria - my favorite iPod - died an ignomious death. She was a little younger than a year and a half old. I named her after this crazy bitch on The Sopranos. Paul was actually around for her first weekend. It was a special time.

She came with me to all sorts of places. She's been to Europe, both England and Holland. She helped me write papers in a stifling little computer lab in Trinity College.

I used Gloria to block out noise, to shut myself off into my own little world. (My social life in my senior year of college left something to be desired.) Now, without her, I'll be forced to listen to people smack gum, prattle about unimportant things, and generally be annoying.

I'll miss you, Gloria. But I'm poor, so you're probably going to stay dead. If it makes you feel any better, you probably won't be replaced.