That’s about it. Here’s to 2012! I can’t fucking wait for a new year to begin after the way this one has ended.

If you’ve been living under a rock lately, the reason that I didn’t post nearly enough on Can You See the Sunset in 2011 was that I began playing my own music again. It’s been a ton of fun too. If you want to hear what it’s all about (really, it’s just acoustic singer-songwriter fare) you can listen to something like 120 of my songs spanning the last 15 years over on my Bandcamp page.

I’ve also got another sorta different project that was quickly thrown together a month or two ago and it’s called Mexican Jazz. The songs sound shitty, but I love ‘em. Mexican Jazz was born one Saturday night this past October in the company of Jim, Jen, Steve, Reba, Sarah, and (most importantly) Amy since we were out for her birthday. I can’t remember who said it, but I remarked, “Mexican Jazz would be a great name for a band,” and then a week later had a 5 song EP from said “band” finished. The songs are up on the Mexican Jazz Bandcamp page.

That’s that. More to come in the next few days.

Considering how the US economy is doing, you might also want to think about getting your prescription medication from any Canadian pharmacy online or even resorting to homeopathic techniques and the secrets of ancient herbal medecines. And speacking of medicine and herbal remedies, if you haven’t already, you should check out the latest releases from Joyce Manor, Basement, Broadcaster, and How Dare You. I’ve been listening to those a lot lately.

Until later…

I’ve just been enjoying the crazily fluctuating weather here in Chicago and generally enjoying things. So I’ve got this rough 12 song demo that I recorded with one microphone in my basement and I sent out to a few friends that I’ll name here:

Dane from The Switchboard Sessions (I know, his site is amazing, right?)
John (my former band mate from Allister and all-around great guy)
Chris & Josh from Rock And Roll Brunch / The American Autumn (great dudes and Chris is hella good at Words With Friends)
Ryan from Mixtapes (quite possibly my favorite band on the planet right now)
Steve from the Baby Stew blog (he’s seen me play live more than anyone else and gives great hugs)
my brother
Jim from Kid, You’ll Move Mountains (an amazing friend and an amazing musician)

I think there are a few others that I sent it out to, but I’m not sure exactly who right now. A few of those on the above list have given me some good feedback while others may or may not have listened. No matter, with any amount of luck, really, most of the songs on this demo will make their way onto a properly recorded full-length sometime this summer. You really should wait to hear these songs until then as I’m still tweaking, re-arranging, and generally making them better. But if you really really really want to hear them right now and are willing to give me some feedback on them let me know and I might (maybe) send you the demo.

I was nervous as hell. The sound sucked on the first song I played even though Corey was doing his best to get it right. I should mention that Corey Wills (of KYMM and Inspector Owl) also played and was great. But back to me. People seemed at least sorta OK with it and it was my first show in awhile, so despite the nerves, I think it went pretty well. There you have it. Groundbreaking, I know.

I played 7 songs. 1 old song from an album I “self-released” back in 2002, 5 new songs written over the past few months, and a cover of the Lifetime song from which the title of this blog is taken.

At this point, I’m not really sure what to say about me playing music. I’d rather just play it and let someone else write about it. It’s me with a guitar singing the same sort of songs I’ve always sung, but this time with a little more vitriol even if no more aggression than before. Everything’s still a little rough around the edges but, fuck, I mean, I’ve played one show. I don’t even have a name/moniker/something to go by yet. It’s a work in progress, but my wife and friends seem to like the songs so I guess I’ll take it.

Speaking of shows, I’m playing on Tuesday, May 3rd at Underground Lounge in Chicago with The Ultrasounds. I think it’s a free show and I think I go on at 9:30. If you’re around and (of course) in Chicago, you should come out and say hello. I’m also playing another show out in the ‘burbs to benefit the Northern Illinois Food Bank in St. Charles on Tuesday, May 24th with Tim Rogner (my old bandmate and the frontman for Allister) and Jim Hanke (from Kid, You’ll Move Mountains). I’m excited about things.

Instead of writing full-fledged reviews I’ll just tell you that, lately, I’ve been listening to new-ish records from the likes of Red City Radio, Mixtapes, Daytrader, Make Do And Mend, Dave Hause, and How Dare You. All are awesome and you should check all of them out. Additionally, any negative/critical comments about the new Red City Radio album that I may have made as a guest on Rock And Roll Brunch a few months ago, I take them all back. It’s such an amazing album.

But it’s a little strange to be stepping back to “the other side” and into the role of the criticized rather than that of the critic. Anyone can write about music but not everyone can play music and fewer still can (or will) do so in front of crowds of people to be judged and dissected. I guess what I’m getting at is that my “new found” musical endeavors have given me a little perspective on things. So if I’ve ever dissed your band or talked shit about your music, I apologize. Whether music is good or bad is purely a judgment value that’s different for everyone. What I’m getting at here is that I know how to dish it out but can I take it? We’ll find out.

So, yeah, I’m playing a show tomorrow in Geneva, IL as part of the Record Store Day festivities at Kiss The Sky records. There will be great people, great music (from KYMM) and it should be a ton of fun. All the details can be found here.

Those are just a few of the words that might describe the current state of Can You See the Sunset. I haven’t posted much lately because, well, I haven’t really felt like it. And since this is a one man show, I can do whatever the fuck I feel like doing with the site. See, writing a music blog seems to be a slippery slope. There’s always pressure to write about the newest garbage micro-genre that comes along and all the flavor-of-the-moment bands/artists. I mean, since I started writing Can You See the Sunset some five and a half years ago, the majority of music that I’ve listened to is new music. It’s kind of a shame since so much new music is borderline awful, or worse.

To put it another way, listening to new music and hoping for the thrill of discovering something new and exciting is all but gone for me. Sure, there are a handful of amazing bands that I’ve discovered via promo requests and such, but for each of those gems that I’ve heard, I’ve heard hundreds of bands that have simply taken my time away from better things.

Is it just me or does it seem like there are so many more bands/artists making music now than there ever was before? It’s a blessing and a curse. Music is an amazing thing and the more music people make the more great stuff there is bound to be, right? Not necessarily. There seems to be an accepted level of mediocrity that runs rampant throughout all genres. But still, there are many many great new artists making amazing music. There’s just so much of it and for someone like me that enjoys music from so many different genres it is totally exhausting and overwhelming to even think about it all.

Which brings me to the point I guess I’ve been trying to get to. Why? Why do this? Why write a music blog? Is there even a point to all this?

There are sites that write better reviews. There are sites with better podcasts. There are sites that feature newer music. There are sites that feature more music. What I’m getting at is that I don’t understand what the relevance of writing any of these blog posts and record reviews anymore. Writing longer reviews is time consuming but writing shorter blurbs often doesn’t feel like I’m doing the music any real justice. It all just sort of seems like a waste of time. Does anyone even get anything out of this site anymore?

Back when I started writing Can You See the Sunset in mid-2005, there weren’t nearly as many music blogs and somehow the blogosphere seemed like a much smaller place than it does today. During these years I’ve met a ton of awesome bloggers, great musicians, and great people, but things seem different now. With all the music that people can simply steal from P2P networks or via torrents, it kinda seems stupid to post a few tracks from an album and write a review. Too bad for me that that’s basically what I’ve done here.

So where does that leave me and my slightly coherent rambling? To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure. I’m not going away, but I’m not sure where I’m going either. Until next time, I’ll leave you with the following 5 statements:

1. Kid, You’ll Move Mountains is a simply amazing band made up of some of the nicest and most humble people you’ll ever meet. If you don’t already have their album, Loomings, get your shit together and get it now.
2. The funnest band on the planet is Mixtapes. They make me feel like I’m 17 again. They can do no wrong.
3. Krazy Fest 2011 is going to be sick but I have to attend a wedding that weekend so I won’t be going. You should go.
4. I love Robyn. Konichiwa bitches. You’re ignorance is killing me.
5. The Clash is the greatest band ever. Period. Shut the fuck up if you don’t agree.

I would love to thank the following people for so kindly supporting this blog. Seriously, these folks are awesome:

Michael Judge, John Holzer, Jeff from Rocket Fuel, Andrew Dorris, Bruce Kiesling, Greg from Captains Dead, Lisa from Kind Of Like Records, and Johnny Pacia & The D Train Riders.