Hello. My name is Harry Wolff.

I am a web developer working at GetGlue.

I enjoy tweeting, taking pictures, and making movies.

This is where I write.

The Roots – How I Got Over

Posted on 06/22/2010 by Harry

As I wrote yesterday The Roots have released their new album today, How I Got Over. I’m not an old fan of The Roots: the first album I heard of theirs was The Tipping Point, which I liked but didn’t get much replay from me. Over the years I’ve heard more of their music and gotten to know who they are as a band. Especially with their latest stint as Jimmy Fallon’s band.

After listening to How I Got Over I found myself liking it about the same as their last albums. As I said before, I’m not a huge Roots fan but this album is fairly solid. The highlight is without a doubt the track that shares the album’s name, How I Got Over. With a drum beat running at a nice clip, a mellow piano played over, and accompanied by strong vocals during the chorus, it stands out as immediately catchy and deserving of repeat listens.

However there’s other tracks on the album that do the same. Most of the tracks feature a strong drum beat, solid instrumentals over it, and a strong chorus that more-or-less pulls the song together. Really, I feel as though the album is comprised of songs with strong choruses and verses that go on for longer than anticipated. The chorus’ are undoubtedly catchy, but the adjacent verses come off as bland and repetitious.

I’m impressed The Roots were able to put together a full LP while moonlighting as the resident band on Jimmy Fallon. For that I give them major kudos. However the album itself I found – while enjoyable and calm – mostly unoriginal and bland. It’s good to put on in the background but I don’t see it ever taking center stage on my stereo.

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Sleigh Bells – Treats

Posted on 06/21/2010 by Harry

Every once in a while a new album comes out that sounds like nothing else. Sometimes these albums break new ground in an ambient and sparse way, with lilts in each song that accentuate the sublime subtleties hidden in each track (e.g. The Field – From Here We Go Sublime). Sometimes these albums break new ground by pitting together instruments and sounds that work in such awesome harmony that it’s a wonder it was never accomplished before (e.g. Arcade Fire – Funeral). And then sometimes these albums roar so ferociously in your ear that at first listen they come off as raw, unfiltered noise that was designed to annoy rather than entertain. Sleigh Bell’s debut album Treats is that such album.

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Official Week of Music – OWoM

Posted on 06/21/2010 by Harry

This week I am declaring as my Official Week of Music. I haven’t posted an album review or highlighted any good artists in a while and I think it’s time to take some time and do just that. I’ve actually accumulated quite a nice collection of artists and musicians that I am very much itching to write about. I am no longer restricting myself from writing solely of new artists and albums – there are far too many musicians out there that when they enter my realm of music deserve my attention and adulation.

So without further ado, please enjoy Harry Wolff’s Official Week of Music!

23andMe Genetic Testing

Posted on 06/11/2010 by Harry

I love new and cool technologies. This ranges from the supreme laziness afforded by an iRobot Dirt Dog to the awesome laziness afforded by a Segway. Yet these two gadgets pall in comparison to my somewhat fanatical interest in a (relatively) new company called 23andMe:

23andMe’s mission is to be the world’s trusted source of personal genetic information.

So exactly what does 23andMe offer? Personal genetic testing for health, disease, and ancestry. In brief they are a DNA testing laboratory that will give you a very thorough and complete breakdown of your own DNA. Sounds awesome to me.

I’ve been interested in trying out their services for a while however I cannot honestly rationalize their $500 price for something that I perceive as an awesome (and somewhat practical) luxury. Maybe I’ll give it to myself as a birthday present, or perhaps someone else will.

I recently found a very thorough breakdown and review of a blogger who bought and used 23andMe’s services. Go take a look at Paul’s write-up of his experience using 23andMe. Looks really cool to me, however it still looks to be a luxury purchase.

The future is coming sooner than I can imagine. I hope the next scientific development is personal body modifications. I would love to have claws like Wolverine. I would save so much on shaving costs.

LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening

Posted on 05/19/2010 by Harry

There are few things I love more than summer albums.

You know the albums I’m talking about. The ones that you crank to max volume in your car. The ones that make you roll down all your windows and stick your hand out. The ones that make you drive faster.

Also the ones that make you dance.

This new album from LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening, is that album. It is their third and arguably their best.

LCD Soundsystem is already well known for making highly danceable tracks, and this album is a very logical and well thought-out extension. On their second album, Sound of Silver, each song felt organized and arranged in a logical manner. The songs progressed as you would hope. They broached the realm of predictability, with a machine-like and metallic timbre. However that metallic feel and sound is nowhere to be found on This Is Happening.
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B.o.B. – B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

Posted on 04/28/2010 by Harry

I love when an album is released that I can’t help but listen to over, and over, and over again. The last album that had that effect on me was the debut album from Two Doors Cinema Club, whose review I posted in February.

These type of records are filled with songs that flow into one another, breathing life into the next song and cherishing the music that just passed. They work as complete albums and as stand alone tracks; songs to be played in the dead of night or to begin a new sunny day. They get my heart pumping and my spirits soaring while I bob my head along to the beat.

The debut album from twenty-one year-old Bobby Ray Simmons – aka B.o.B. – is causing my head to bob so much its giving me a stiff neck. The beats are infectious, the rhymes are tight, and the singing is strong. I don’t think I’ll grow tired of this album until it grows tired of me.

His album is named B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray and it fits. Coming off of a few mix-tapes with some successful singles, B.o.B. is relatively unknown. Yet from what I’m hearing on his album he definitely knows himself.

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We Live in Public

Posted on 04/27/2010 by Harry

This is the first movie review I’ve written for my site. The format and structure of these reviews are bound to change like me – and hopefully for the better.

This past week I watched the documentary We Live in Public. Described (as of this writing) on Wikipedia as, “a 2009 documentary by Ondi Timoner about the loss of privacy in the Internet age, which focuses on Internet pioneer Josh Harris.”

This description is incredibly understated.

Josh Harris was one of the early dot-com pioneers, profiteers, and failures. His company Pseudo.com was one of the first video podcasts on the Internet. It hosted a variety of internet shows with lively hosts and information, streamed for the enjoyment of anyone who logged on.

Did I mention this took place in 1994?

Harris’ grand vision of everyone filming and wanting to film themselves has proven to be far ahead of its time. Today we have YouTube and a variety of other sites dedicated and thriving off of user-created content. To be so prescient with this business plan was both Harris’ blessing and curse.

This film took me on a roller-coaster ride around and through emotions that I had never experienced sequentially. The debate surrounding privacy is thoroughly investigated and the details of Harris’ exploits are boggling.

Clocking in at 90-minutes the film is direct and to the point. There is no excess and Timoner lets the archived video speak for itself.

I’m extremely amazed and surprised that I did not know anything that was presented in this film, but I’m extremely grateful to have seen it.

Watch the trailer embedded below.

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Phantogram – Eyelid Moves

Posted on 04/10/2010 by Harry

Phantogram is an up-and-coming/somewhat arrived band. That’s really the best way I’m currently able to describe them. They haven’t quite hit it big with a large audience but they are hardly underground anymore.

Phantogram is comprised of Sarah D. Barthel and Joshua M. Carter from upstate New York in Saratoga Springs. As already stated in numerous places around the Internet, for such a rural setting their music is amazingly urban-sounding. Their energetic beats push forward their dark and growling sound as either Sarah sings prettily above the din or Josh snarls into the mess.

The obvious standout track is When I’m Small. It is the first track most people hear and I was no exception. It opens with a soft drum sample for two measures until the volume gets turned up as the song’s drum beat and groove kick-in. I’ve yet to meet someone who isn’t moved by the incredible pull of this song. The vocals float above the grunge, the beat is unstoppable, and no second is wasted.

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Broken Bells – Broken Bells (and why ticketmaster angers me)

Posted on 03/09/2010 by Harry

Ever heard of The Shins? They were a nice indie success with songs such as Phantom Limb and New Slang (which was featured in the movie Garden State).

Ever heard of DJ Danger Mouse? He broke onto the music scene when he released his amazing mix-tape The Grey Album – a mash-up of Jay-Z’s Black Album and The Beatle’s White Album. It has amazing tracks that remove the need to imagine what Jay-Z would sound like rapping over the music of The Beatles (he’s also half the duo of Gnarls Barkley).

To the delight of fans DJ Danger Mouse and The Shins’ lead singer and guitarist James Mercer joined creative forces and formed their own band. They named themselves Broken Bells and their debut album comes out today, March 9th 2010.

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Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History

Posted on 02/09/2010 by Harry

I love finding artists before mainstream media does. It’s an acquired skill, one that is mostly luck and perseverance. There isn’t a science to it, but there are ways in which you can increase your odds. In this particular case I have the Hype Machine to thank for this new artist discovery.

There are times when my enthusiasm for finding a new artist overshadows the actual talent – for Two Door Cinema Club this is not the case. Since getting my hands on their debut album Tourist History (released 3/1/10 in the UK) I have not been able to stop listening.

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