The Power of Music/Excuses to use the PS3 Music Visualizer

Contrary to popular belief, I do listen to music on occasion. Even music that wasn't produced fifty years ago! One of my more recent purchases was the latest effort from seminal Canadian rock-pop group the Barenaked Ladies, All in Good Time, whose particular brand of weirdness has always held a strong place in my musical heart. With the departure of Steven Page, the band has lost an integral piece of their sound and the hole on the vocal side of things is quite noticeable. Whereas on previous albums Barenaked Ladies Are Me and Are Men have included songs written and sung by other band members, they are now being relied upon to provide a larger portion of the songs. That said, band members Kevin Hearn and Jim Creeggan have definitely improved in the intervening years, making the Hearn written and sung "Another Heartbreak" one of the better songs on the album.

The real story, of course, is Ed Robertson taking up the mantle as leading man after sharing it with Page for twenty years. Apparently he is up to task, as some of the songs included on the album are the most original and daring the band has produced in a long while. It could be said that BNL often falls into a formula when writing songs and this album does a lot to dispel this. The songs do not sound as patently BNL as one might expect, which can both be a blessing and a detriment. Songs like "Every Subway Car" (about passengers wondering who inspired the graffiti as they go about their travels), "I Have Learned" and "Jerome" are surprisingly weird departures for the band. Even their patented fast talking song, "Four Seconds" provides harsh instrumentals which betray the origin of the band. That said, the single from the album "You Run Away" and others like "Original" maintain that particular rock-pop vibe that most people would be able to point out as patently BNL. "You Run Away", inspired by Page's departure from the band is particularly strong and is a strong anchor for the rest of the album. All In Good Time is a decent attempt at legitimacy by the remainder of the Barenaked Ladies and, after some getting used to, is one of their better albums in recent years.

Also, I would be remiss not to mention the unbelievably cool Playstation 3 music visualizer which has never made sitting on the couch watching music so fun. For all you PS3 owners who haven't listened to music on your system - do it. Apparently along with firmware 2.1 back in 2007 they added the "Gaia" visualizer which was originally intended to be the start up animation (too bad they ditched it). It's a fantastic 3D model of the Earth in different situations. Think of the start and end to Planet Earth only more awesome and your own music.
Alright. Later days.