Andy Affleck

It’s been some time since I’ve written anything (here, lots of writing elsewhere) and my friend Carla suggested I review some recent music purchases (which may be her way of getting me to stop IMming her these reviews as I listen…) So, without further ado, I’ll start working through the last few months of new music.

Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs This album came out just this week and I’ve listened to it maybe 3 or 4 times (not including the songs stuck in my head on infinite repeat!) and I am enjoying it a lot.

They start out their first track, “Bixby Canyon Bridge” with a much harder sound than I’ve heard from them before, lots of cacaphony and noise but offset by the lead singer’s high and comparatively thin voice, which gives it an overall interesting effect.

The track getting all the airplay is “I will Possess Your Heart” and is either an insightful song about how hard relationships are to start or a song about a really creepy stalker. My take was the former. The latter was my wife’s take (Jack’s too, actually). Either way, the song is an interesting one (and the bonus video is really intriguing – a woman traveling the world looking pensive). We have mixed reviews on the slow, long buildup of the instrumentation at the start of the song. I rather like it but then I’ve always been a fan of minimalism (which this is not, but it’s analogous) whereas my wife felt they should get on with it already.

“No Sunlight” is stuck in my head more than the others even though it is a somewhat dark song talking about how as a child the skies were all clear and there was always sunlight (warmth, protection, safety) and as one ages, the sunlight goes away. Pessimistic to say the least but, like all of their songs with darker content, still excellent and catchy.

The rest of the album is similarly excellent though I am not as familiar with it enough to comment on each and every track (nor did I really intend to, it just so happens that the three I liked the best start off the album). (Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon MP3 Download | iTunes)

The Weepies: Hideaway. Somehow The Weepies have eluded me until recently. I just happened to find this one via Amie St and fell in love with the sample clips (1:30 vs. iTunes :30). Every single track on this album has, at one time or another, grabbed me and pulled me in. Their sound is both simple and yet, at the same time, lush and I just love every ounce of it. Of all the tracks, “Wish I Could Forget” is by far my favorite.

There is not a single track on this album I would skip and there are many standouts. What I like the most is how diverse their sound is. They take turns leading in vocals so some songs are lead by Steve Tannen and some are lead by Deb Talan which varies their sound wonderfully. Together they harmonize beautifully and I just love listening to them sing. (Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon MP3 Download | iTunes)

Last monday (nearly two weeks ago now), our new Cedarworks playset arrived in 18 large boxes, 1 slide, 1 pole, and 1 large bucket of bolts and other hardware. I had just cleaned the garage out so we could fit the delivery. The weather had been iffy and it wasn’t clear when we’d be able to start building. The following Sunday looked promising so I put out the call for help and Ann and I paced around the yard trying to figure out where the best spot would be. The problem is that our yard slopes down towards the house and you need these things to be level so they don’t… well… fall over.

Sunday came and only one person was available to help. Thankfully, Jay is, among other things, a contractor. With his help (who am I kidding — with Jay doing much of the work) we got the basic structure of the gazebo standing along with the first level floor done by Sunday evening. This included digging under the uphill side so that the structure stands level on the hill that is our yard.

Monday, Ann and I hurt and took the day off.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ann and I worked solo and managed to get the second level deck up, the chin bar and rope and pole up, the side walls, and the trap door and inside ladder together. We also added the long structure support on the gazebo on the swing side (to keep it from tipping when swinging is happening). This also involved digging to make sure the support lies flat.

On Thursday, I got the slide up and discovered that in order for it to sit flat on the upper deck, the end has to be about 4 feet in the air. While Jack loved the idea of launching off the end of the slide, I did not like the thought of broken legs and angry neighbor parents. Luckily, Jay was able to come by to lend his expertise and he figured out that if we remove the large block under the top of the slide and move it to the bottom of the slide, it won’t be unreasonably high yet still be secure. Ann and I will also be putting in a nice pile of wood chips at the base to provide a softer landing spot (in fact, we’ll be putting wood chips all around the structure when we do our landscaping work, the next big yard project). Jay also helped us get the swing side up and attached.

Friday, Ann and I finished it — adding all the remaining structure supports (more digging!), the front booster step, handles, the crow’s nest, steering wheel, bucket and rope, telescope, roof, and flag (yes! it has a flag!).

Needless to say, Jack is over the moon about this. He has been having so much fun with this set that he has been falling asleep during the nightly bedtime story which, at the moment, is Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander, a book he is deeply into.

You can see more pictures during and after construction here.

Got kids? Come on over and have some margaritas and let the kids play!

Author: Andy Affleck

Recent Music

New Playset