No secret, I love me some Guster. Everyone on earth knows this. This is a banner day/week/month/season/era for Guster and fans.
Yesterday they announced their ninth studio album release, Ooh La La. Their last album was released in 2019 before the world kind of fell off its axis a little bit. I've been waiting for this for a long time.
Over the past year(s) they've been playing two songs, Wishing Tree and Black Balloon. Neither of which I've really liked, except when they were with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the intro and outro by the orchestra was just next level beautiful and brought a real depth to the song.
With the album release announcement, they put two more songs out into the world. Keep Going, and All Day, as well as an official music video for Keep Going.
Now. I love me some Guster all day every day. The last album, Look Alive, took me a long time to like. I needed to hear acoustic versions of the synthy slick highly produced songs to really start to love the tunes. It happened. I did get there.
I think the same thing is going to happen with this album. It's going to take me some time.
This particular song has some really good "Gustery" lyrics, such as:
Well the world brought us here
If we let it now all good things reappear It's ok I'm alright
It's ok I'm alright
Keep going
Keep going
To the light...
Keep going, indeed.
One of my fellow facebook group friends posted that this song is helping her deal with the grief of her father's very recent death. Until someone said that, I just kind of felt "meh" about this tune but I started really thinking about how all songs have meaning to different people when they come out, and they are met in that place by the music. I hadn't thought of it that way.
And I thought of people who need to be encouraged to Keep Going.
It feels like another Guster church hymn to me in some ways, like Hang On has always felt to me. I just got chills thinking about it.
An additional ponder: With my first listen or two, this song and others recently released are "Ryan Miller" songs, and not Guster songs.
I don't hate it, I'm not mad, but I do feel like there is a lot missing from the presentation.
I miss Adam's voice being in the forefront of things, it has been a very long time since they put out a song where he's singing lead. It feels too overproduced, noisy. I felt that way about so much of Look Alive, so I feel like we're all going along with them in this "era." The synthpop era. We've moved far far away from the bibbity bobbity bongos and two guitars, three part in the round harmony things.
Every band moves through their changes and growth, this I know. They're even calling this tour "We Also Have Eras," a nod to the lovely Taylor Swift there.
But I do kind of feel like my ears are being left behind, my heart is not being spoken to. Not like Easy Wonderful or Ganging Up On The Sun did for me and those were kind of the last overall "everything on this album is awesome" releases for me.
But like I said, I do not hate it. I just need to sit with it for a while. I need to analyze this era. I need to just, you know. Be with it.
It's okay, I'm alright. It's okay, I'm alright.
The official album release date isn't until May 17th, but at the March 30th show, that's the CD release party. It'll be my second Guster CD Release Party - I went to the Ganging Up On The Sun one at a Boston Harbor Cruise a bajillion years ago.
I'll probably buy a copy of the CD because I do want to hear the other tracks. There are not that many. It's not a hugely packed album.
And I am for sure looking forward to hearing what these songs sound like live on stage.
Here's me and the aforementioned Mr. Ryan Miller on the Boston harbor Booze Cruise CD Release boat. June 2006.
Geoff wanted to go with me on this excursion, but it was 21+ because, you know, booze cruise. So Doug came with. I told Ryan that Geoff wanted to be there, and he waved to the camera and said "oh hi Geoff" and other nice things. I think he wished him a good day. Sorry you couldn't be here, kind of messaging.
Digits, below.
digits
exercise: 12/12 hours of 250 steps. 15 min. indoor walk (dedicated 10+5) 5500+steps by bedtime
blood glucose:
9:15am: 181 5pm: 171 9:45pm: 195
food: coffee/water 11:30am: 2 egg omelet w/goat cheese, wilted spinach, red onion. Metformin 1pm: tuna sandwich on 15 grain bread 2pm: the rest of the tuna salad 6:30pm: tater tots (Doug made fish sandwiches but feh, I didn't like them so I took a bite and didn't finish) 8pm: large bowl of greek yogurt w/blueberries red wine+diet ginger ale
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