I was reading reviews on iTunes of this week's free single. a few of the top reviews said things like, "No offense i'm Hispanic but this is America and i like my songs in English" And, "seriusly why is it in spanish... iTunes you need to pick better songs that people actually listen to." Typically I think people in our country are a lot less backward than they think, but to discount a song because it's not in the language you grew up with, what is that about? Anyway, my favorite (read: least favorite) was from someone named "blessedBEtheNAME1080p." A funny name alluding at once to Jesus and high definition television. Maybe they were just going for a "Jesus in high resolution" kind of thing. Anyway, this person has written two reviews, one thanking the Lord that they were able to listen to this person's music live and only one other, a review of this week's free single, Bestia. "Catchy beat but it ruins it when its in a different language." It ruins it when it's in a different language? Maybe they were just sad they couldn't understand the lyrics, but if that had to do with an actual consideration of whether the song is good, what a sad vision of what beauty means!
My friends... you all are wonderful people, and if you're a fan of the band you've probably been hearing us tell you for the last six months or so that a new album is in the works, due by what would now be about a month and a half.
After much deliberation, The Northern has decided to break up
JK
BUT!!!! We are delaying the release of our album to a future date that we very intentionally do not have a release date for. We believe we have the potential to bake some really good cookies. We have all the necessary ingredients, but why throw them all together when you don't know the right measurements of the individual ingredients? We've got Brown Sugar (Jon), Butter (Jason), Dough (Jim, though the last time I called him my "little dough boy" I received a black eye that didn't go away for months), and Chocolate chips (which I guess would be me).
The biggest issue is that for a variety of reasons, many of which involve subconscious sibling rivalry issues, we've tended toward too many chocolate chips. It's like, "Welcome to the chocolate chip show! Have a little cookie!"
Another problem we've had is being more focused on a career goal than an artistic one. saying things like, "Album due May 1. It's going to be awesome!" before the album is even half-finished.
So what we've decided to do is to wait. "Chew the cud" so to speak. I'm releasing my grasp on "my" concepts for the sake of this album becoming OUR art. The result will be more Jon, more Jim, more Jason. More J's in jeneral. The Northern has been a group product from the get-go. Let no-one be deceived... but I've been hogging the driver's seat and apparently I'm not the only one on this road-trip who likes to drive.
There's an album coming your way, but hopefully and more importantly there's better art and a better band coming your way. In the meantime, come to a show. You will no doubt witness some spectacular growing pains.
Not nearly as glamorous as it sounds... No actual hanging out happened, however, Ryan Adams did come out with a new album which is always a treat for me... Most of the songs are really short, less than three minutes. There are definitely some gems.
Finished the bulk of drum and bass tracking in Studio 510, which is nice. We also tracked piano for Still, a pianuh based track that'll close out the record... Get excited!!!! Plus, we were on NPR! Listen to the story and soon we will be in your ears!
Have you ever heard of Kate Walsh? I have. I don't now how it happened, but I'm sitting for joy about it. She makes some really nice music. I feel really good right now.
Lifetime
