Music Finds You
You know how we usually find music, in stores, magazines, TV, friends. But have you ever had music actually track *you* down?Well, back a few months ago I received a mogmail from someone by the name of "*Catskill*":http://mog.com/Catskill who informed me he had been doing a search on the web for the group Cantinero and saw I had blogged about them back in "*April*":http://mog.com/Augusts1/blog_post/64920#comments. Catskill had then joined mog to blog about a new song that Cantinero had recorded & since I was a fan, wanted me to hear. Of course I loved it!Then around 9/9/07 I received another mogmail from Catskill informing me he had an advance copy of Cantinero's new completed album that he'd like to share with me. Of course, I jumped at the chance but not without caution. I was rather suspicious of this person. Was this some kind of setup to see if I would download music illegally? I had a few questions for Mr. Catskill, like who was he & how did he acquire the new album by Cantinero?Come to find out Catskill is Christopher Hicken, the creative force behind Cantinero! I certainly was surprised and he wanted me to hear the new album since he read my post about his debut album and knew I really enjoyed his music. The new album hasn't been released & may not be for awhile since Artemis/V2 records went kaput while he was recording it. So he is shopping for recording companies to help him promote it.So Christopher sent me a copy by email of his new album since he was curious as to what I thought of it. Very cool. New music found me, instead of the other way around! So for the past few weeks I've been listening to "Better For The Metaphor" & loving it. It is a pure pop album.The song posted above is one of my favorites on the album "Stay In Bed" since it's a really upbeat pop rocker of a song. Chris has a very unique ability to create very catchy songs that are pitted against his more serious lyrical subjects. He really catches you off guard with his life insights. I find myself singing along & after a bit thinking, 'Wait a minute here, what the hell is this song *really* talking about? He's addressing some serious subject matter & yet I'm happily & mindlessly singing along.' There are messages that are so sweetly disguised amongst the hooks & melodies of Cantinero's songs that eventually you can't help but to stop & think about what's being presented before your ears & mind. 
Every song on this album is wonderful & so lovingly crafted. Another favorite song is "Goodby Life" which has a real caberet/vaudeville sound to it & is such a different style from anything Chris has done before. It's also a wonderful duet with an intriguing(mystery) female vocal. I'm sure Christopher will read this & clue us in as to who this mystery woman is(I'll post the song in the comments). It's just such a musically fun song but the lyrics are oh so dark. I'm not sure I quite yet have figured out what the song is fully about. It seems to be about suicide on the surface but listen closer & the lyrics aren't quite about that. I think it may be a spoof of fundamental religions and how they look forward to the afterlife & 'heaven', trying to block out real life. And that's the great thing about Cantinero & Chris's music, it causes you to think about the deeper meaning of the song even as you hum or sing along to the catchy melodies. You can't help yourself. The songs are just so infectious. Another great song on the album is "My House" which is a cross between XTC & Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It's the album opener & just so full of vibrant energy. But yet it's juxtaposed against the darker ideation of keeping up with the Jones's. A very bittersweet song for sure that I would imagine Andy Partridge could cover & no one would guess he didn't write it! Lyrically it reminds me of CSN&Y's "Our House".There is one criticism I have of the album though. About midway through it I start to feel a need for more rock muscle on the album. But as pure as this album is it really is a minor detail. I guess I'm more of a rocker at heart. So here's to music finding you. Thanks Chris!http://www.cantinero.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantinerohttp://mog.com/Catskill
Every song on this album is wonderful & so lovingly crafted. Another favorite song is "Goodby Life" which has a real caberet/vaudeville sound to it & is such a different style from anything Chris has done before. It's also a wonderful duet with an intriguing(mystery) female vocal. I'm sure Christopher will read this & clue us in as to who this mystery woman is(I'll post the song in the comments). It's just such a musically fun song but the lyrics are oh so dark. I'm not sure I quite yet have figured out what the song is fully about. It seems to be about suicide on the surface but listen closer & the lyrics aren't quite about that. I think it may be a spoof of fundamental religions and how they look forward to the afterlife & 'heaven', trying to block out real life. And that's the great thing about Cantinero & Chris's music, it causes you to think about the deeper meaning of the song even as you hum or sing along to the catchy melodies. You can't help yourself. The songs are just so infectious. Another great song on the album is "My House" which is a cross between XTC & Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It's the album opener & just so full of vibrant energy. But yet it's juxtaposed against the darker ideation of keeping up with the Jones's. A very bittersweet song for sure that I would imagine Andy Partridge could cover & no one would guess he didn't write it! Lyrically it reminds me of CSN&Y's "Our House".There is one criticism I have of the album though. About midway through it I start to feel a need for more rock muscle on the album. But as pure as this album is it really is a minor detail. I guess I'm more of a rocker at heart. So here's to music finding you. Thanks Chris!http://www.cantinero.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantinerohttp://mog.com/Catskill
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