Heather, I don't have a dog in that fight. I've only heard a couple of songs here and there. Allison is a Chicago-area DJ and felt pretty strongly about it.

Me neither really, hayden. They're not a band I care about one way or the other, though I do like that cd. It's interesting to me that the things she didn't like about it were some of the things I did, and that she'd heard other albums by them.

I know that dramatic style changes by familiar bands seems to make people either hate the new album or applaud the band for doing something new.

I know that dramatic style changes by familiar bands seems to make people either hate the new album or applaud the band for doing something new.

Yep, very true, that. Hey, do you have any interest in writing for the High Hat?

I know that I saw the name Decemberists come up here not long ago- in looking at the schedule at the bar i go to from time to time, I saw their name pop up in mid-September. I'd only go because the name has Buffista cred. What should I expect?

Dude. Flattered into near speechless (typeless?) -ness. Work's too much right now, the project is really getting off the ground and gaining momentum, but maybe if I come up with something in the future.

I know that dramatic style changes by familiar bands seems to make people either hate the new album or applaud the band for doing something new.

Our Lady Peace's Gravity is an example of the former, whereas Eddie from Ohio's Looking Out the Fishbowl is an example of the latter, in my opinion. Though I guess it depends on what you call dramatic. Incubus has a different sound every CD, and they all rock.

I'd only go because the name has Buffista cred. What should I expect?

A good concert, I'd say. "July, July!" is the funnest song ever, and "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" is good as well. Indie rock.

Dude. Flattered into near speechless (typeless?) -ness. Work's too much right now, the project is really getting off the ground and gaining momentum, but maybe if I come up with something in the future.

Please do! You have such a sharp take on things. I'd really love to see what you come up with.

I know that I saw the name Decemberists come up here not long ago- in looking at the schedule at the bar i go to from time to time, I saw their name pop up in mid-September. I'd only go because the name has Buffista cred. What should I expect?

Sea chanties, Zeppelin-meets-Randy Newman rock operas, clever wordplay, affecting sing-alongs. See #6.

There's some great examples of artists who change horses mid-stream to varying success out there, P-C.

I can't comment on Incubus since I don't listen to them. I wonder what it is that pushes people into one or the other category, or the CW into one or the other category. Is the new sound just inherently bad? Was the old one just that good, and they shouldn't have been done exploring it?

S'funny, because it happened to me just recently (forgive the Samlikescarrotsness of this part). I heard a couple of Sam's band's tracks. I liked them, like a lot. Suddenly he mentions something in his post on their site about listening to different bands and wanting to incorporate, not so much the sound, more like some of the concepts of those bands. My first thought? "Nooooooooooooooooooo!' Now why? I didn't even listen to any of the post-ephiphany songs, I'm not sure they wouldn't have been somthing I would have liked or not, or even- being one of those sofa art music lovers- if I would have been able to tell the difference.

Is the new sound just inherently bad? Was the old one just that good, and they shouldn't have been done exploring it?

With Our Lady Peace, they pretty much took everything that made them unique and interesting beyond just Raine's voice, and cranked out something ridiculously generic, with the exception of a few great songs, none of which had the touch of any of their past albums. Granted, I haven't heard a lot off their debut Naveed, which I hear sounds similar. They got a new bassist (or maybe guitarrist, I forget) for this album, and I read somewhere that it represented the direction they were going, which makes me shudder to think what the next album will be like.

I don't know. The Velvet Underground more or less invented the concept of sounding entirely different on each album, but they always sound like the Velvet Underground. VU fans usually have favorites, but I'm not sure if any fan ever actually hates any of their albums.

I know the lead singer of the band I'm in now seems to think that his sound is heavily influenced by The Band, which I don't hear in the slightest, and hates the constant comparison to The Smiths and Belle & Sebastian, which sound utterly appropriate to me. So I think artists sometimes incorporate influences in a way that's entirely hermetic. That's probably true of the songs I write, too.