Built To Spill

I just can't get into mainstream music anymore. I don't know what it is. I listen and listen and nothing seems to touch me. Even a lot of the alternative bands like the Shins or Death Cab for Cutie don't really do it for me. They may have a song or two that is nice to listen to, but nothing that really moves me.

Of course, taste for music is totally subjective. The only true standard, perhaps, of how to measure the greatness of a music band is its influence on others. This is what makes the Beatles so great.

Great or not, I love Built to Spill. The following song is called "Randy Describes Eternity". Keep in mind that this was taped by a fan at a live concert so the quality is questionable. However, this song is a good example of how a good Built to Spill song twists and turns and never ends the way it began.

One of the reasons I like Built to Spill so much is their Wall-of-Soung guitar. I don't like just any old menacing guitar. For example, Metallica doesn't really do it for me. I think it's the repetition of the same thing over and over again that I don't like. A Built to Spill song will have so many riffs and turns like a river that you never get bored. A good example of such a river of music is Stop the Show. This song starts out slow and melodic and then slowly crescendos into an intense wall of guitar and then just goes all over the place. If you don't like how it starts, give it until at least the 3-minute mark.

This tour-de-force of rock and roll guitar is not all about noise (which I like). There are also a few slow ones here and there. Perhaps one of their most well known ones is Twin Falls Idaio

I think Doug, the lead singer and song writer, likes astronomy. Several of his songs have astronomical references. But even more than that, many of his lyrics are just strange and cool. "Bigger Dipper" is a great example.

It appears that Built to Spill posted this themselves to Youtube so that there would be something there of high quailty sound. But there is no video

I want to keep going here but it's late and my wife says it's time to go to bed. I have a feeling I'll have to add more at a later time.