Private Dancer - Trouble Eyes

Private Dancer - Trouble Eyes

This is not a music blog. This blogger, however, is a DJ and therefore listens to music. This is a review of a record by a band called "Private Dancer".

There are a few ways that records are reviewed, and these methods I feel can be summed up in questions: How do I feel about this record? What does this record mean/Why is this record important? What does this record sound like?/How original is this record? Do I reccomend this record?

This is, of course, a ridiculous way to approach a "review", but here's the plan: I'm going to answer the aforementioned questions.

How do I feel about his record?

I feel pretty good. Listening to it, I'm interested. The sound is fairly dense, and I suspect my mother would not like it. She doesn't like music with "muddled" sounds. However, there are some cleverly hidden hooks within the "sonic collage". I love clichés.

What does this record mean/Why is this record important?

Short answer: Who knows.
Long answer: This is rock music, no doubt. Rock music is not necessarily meaningful, but sometimes it is. This is the beauty of the genre. Like literature, it can be entertaining, it can be thought provoking, and it can be both. I have done absolutely no research on this band, so I don't know who they are or where they're from. If I had to guess, I'd say they're late-twenties white men, with beards and book collections. Probably more than two college degrees between them, and definitely some wit. So what does this record mean? Who knows. But I like it, it makes me feel cool.

What does this record sound like/How original is this record?

The first song and many others on the record sound like proto-metal, very much like Detroit's Awesome Color. That shouldn't mean anything to most people, so imagine MC5-style rock played by a bunch of white college graduates, only less militant. The musicianship is good, however, not sloppy, and not everything on the record sounds like raw meat. Track number second, "1000 year wave" is a slower cut, still with a little fuzz but also a clear, melodic and very pleasing lead guitar. It's somewhere between instrumental rock (like Unwed Sailor) and I-don't-know-what. I like this track very much, though. The rest of the record is not uniform, dancing between hooks and noise and clever lyrics. The last track, "Do You Like To Read?" strongly evokes The Hold Steady with its lyrical delivery, and the words suggest to me that Private Dancer does, indeed, like to read. Original? Not particularly. Private Dancer, like The Hold Steady, plays sometimes abrasive rock music that seems to draw on seventies arena rock. But unlike The Hold Steady, they are also capable of toning things down. This record is a new take on a well established genre (noisy rock), but the hooks are pleasing and the lyrics are interesting enough to warrant a close look.

Do I recommend this record?

Yes. If you like rock music, you might like this band. I do.

Ski Discovery

So there's this ski area called Discovery just west of Anaconda, MT. It's about a two and a half hour drive from Bozeman, and lift tickets are $35. I'd never been there, so Alfred and I decided to "explore the West" and check out this area, since backcountry skiing right now is exceptionally shady. That turned out to be a good idea. Discovery got 6" the night before we went, and it snowed probably 4" during the day. So while there were fresh tracks to be had in the morning, there were more fresh tracks to be had in the afternoon. Very cool. Discovery has three faces, which are roughly geared towards beginner, intermediate, and expert skiers. The front side had greens, blues, and some black diamond runs that were really fun. The "intermediate side" was mostly black diamond with one lone blue cruiser. The "backside" is almost entirely double black diamond, with some slopes steeper than 40 degrees and almost nothing mellower than about 30-35 degrees. Lots of snow, no lift lines, plenty of room on the slopes, and a super low-key vibe means we'll be back in the future.

Some pictures:

We left Bozeman around 7AM

We're almost in Anaconda.
Alfred, finding some soft snow on the mid-difficulty side.

More turns on the very nice (and mellow) single blacks.
Me, trying to maintain my composure in the softness that accumulated throughout the day. This run was not opened until mid-afternoon, so it hadn't been skied much yet.
All things considered, Discovery is awesome.