Thursday, October 27, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Excitement, disbelief, and suspicion
That the Lightening Bolt's Hyper Magic Mountain is getting such good reviews fills me with excitement (I'm yet to hear it myself, though).
That My Morning Jacket's Z (the noise you make while sleeping???) gets equally good reviews fills me with disbelief.
This fills me with suspicion, though I hope it's unfounded.
That My Morning Jacket's Z (the noise you make while sleeping???) gets equally good reviews fills me with disbelief.
This fills me with suspicion, though I hope it's unfounded.
Monday, October 24, 2005
My Morning Post...
One of the great things about having friends that write blogs is that you can link to them when you ain't got time to write a goddamn post yourself:
Eirik on My Morning Jacket (for readers of Norwegian only!).
Eirik on My Morning Jacket (for readers of Norwegian only!).
Monday, October 17, 2005
Babies and Men
Still very busy. I plan to update my 2005-lists before the end of the week. There have been a lot of interesting releases since the previous update (Danger Doom, Amy Rigby ++).
This means the songs-list need some refreshing too. It's not very large at present, but there are plenty of songs I can and will add.
Speaking of this, that kook Davendra Banhart's album Cripple Crow has failed to impress me, but I find the song "Chinese Children" utterly enjoyable and it will most likely make the revised songs-list.
The Constantines' Tournament of Hearts I like far better, and especially "Soon Enough", which has to be the finest country song from a non-country artist this year:
Soon enough
work and love
will make a man out of you
Ain't it true!
This means the songs-list need some refreshing too. It's not very large at present, but there are plenty of songs I can and will add.
Speaking of this, that kook Davendra Banhart's album Cripple Crow has failed to impress me, but I find the song "Chinese Children" utterly enjoyable and it will most likely make the revised songs-list.
The Constantines' Tournament of Hearts I like far better, and especially "Soon Enough", which has to be the finest country song from a non-country artist this year:
Soon enough
work and love
will make a man out of you
Ain't it true!
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Argh!
It's /fai/ery Furnaces, NOT /fi/ery. (This outburst, of course, will mean nothing to you with English as your mother tongue).
A song to song comparison of Blender's and Rolling Stone's respective Top 500 by Scott Woods.
That is all.
A song to song comparison of Blender's and Rolling Stone's respective Top 500 by Scott Woods.
That is all.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
This an' that...
I'm very busy these days, so I haven't got much time for in-depth analysis and the like (!?!).
If you read Nick Sylvester's article on Norwegian music that I linked for you in my previous post, you'll have seen that he doesn't think it is all the doom and gloom my excerpt may have led you to believe. Mr. Sylvester, funny though he is, may be too indie for my taste, as witnessed by his mention of the clique at the end of the same article (I get the feeling he means "the elite few"), and his recent 9.0 rating of the new Deerhoof album The Runners Four, a record that has so far neither made me punch the air, shake my hip, nor given me any other hints that I like it.
I'm far more pleased with the new album by the Fall, Fall Heads Roll. Not great, but more consistent than Mr. E. Smith has been in a long time. A return the glory days of the mid-eighties, perhaps?
I've also been listening to Eric Dolphy's Iron Man, which sounds really, really good. Recorded ca. 1963 just before his masterpiece Out to Lunch, and you can hear the development towards the looser structures he used on that album. Key track: "Burning Spear", a 12 minute long steamroller with two bass players; Richard Davis, who remains a favorite, and Eddie Khan, who I don't know much about.
Looking out for Billy Bang's Vietnam: Reflections, and James Carter's Pavement tribute (!) Gold Sounds.
If you read Nick Sylvester's article on Norwegian music that I linked for you in my previous post, you'll have seen that he doesn't think it is all the doom and gloom my excerpt may have led you to believe. Mr. Sylvester, funny though he is, may be too indie for my taste, as witnessed by his mention of the clique at the end of the same article (I get the feeling he means "the elite few"), and his recent 9.0 rating of the new Deerhoof album The Runners Four, a record that has so far neither made me punch the air, shake my hip, nor given me any other hints that I like it.
I'm far more pleased with the new album by the Fall, Fall Heads Roll. Not great, but more consistent than Mr. E. Smith has been in a long time. A return the glory days of the mid-eighties, perhaps?
I've also been listening to Eric Dolphy's Iron Man, which sounds really, really good. Recorded ca. 1963 just before his masterpiece Out to Lunch, and you can hear the development towards the looser structures he used on that album. Key track: "Burning Spear", a 12 minute long steamroller with two bass players; Richard Davis, who remains a favorite, and Eddie Khan, who I don't know much about.
Looking out for Billy Bang's Vietnam: Reflections, and James Carter's Pavement tribute (!) Gold Sounds.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Things I didn't write
These are mostly things from last week, but they are still interesting reads:
Simon Reynolds, critic and author of the ok Rip it Up and Start Again, has written a review of Return the Gift, the re-recordings of old faves by the best band of the original post-punk (or whatever you wanna call it) era, Gang of Four.
Also, Nick Sylvester has interesting views on a live show and new stuff by the Rapture, the band with the best record of the new post-punk (or whatever you wanna call it) era.
Seeing as Mr. Sylvester is an industrious fella, he has also managed to write this article on Norwegian music for pitchforkmedia.com. You can read it yourself, but I'll quote you this part:
"...countless Big In Norway acts do their best and big-selling impersonations of American and British rock bands for a sizable hometown base that, for understandable reasons I guess, want Coldplays and Travises and Velvet Revolvers of their own. This band Madrugada are huge there-- terrible! Turbonegro still draw big crowds-- why? You fuckers heard of Magnet? Enormous; terrible".
I have nothing to add.
Simon Reynolds, critic and author of the ok Rip it Up and Start Again, has written a review of Return the Gift, the re-recordings of old faves by the best band of the original post-punk (or whatever you wanna call it) era, Gang of Four.
Also, Nick Sylvester has interesting views on a live show and new stuff by the Rapture, the band with the best record of the new post-punk (or whatever you wanna call it) era.
Seeing as Mr. Sylvester is an industrious fella, he has also managed to write this article on Norwegian music for pitchforkmedia.com. You can read it yourself, but I'll quote you this part:
"...countless Big In Norway acts do their best and big-selling impersonations of American and British rock bands for a sizable hometown base that, for understandable reasons I guess, want Coldplays and Travises and Velvet Revolvers of their own. This band Madrugada are huge there-- terrible! Turbonegro still draw big crowds-- why? You fuckers heard of Magnet? Enormous; terrible".
I have nothing to add.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
How do you like them apples?
Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine has achieved a metascore of 87 on metacritic.com. Here is one reason why I think the previous, and un-released, mix is better:
One of the best tracks on the album is a song called "Get Him Back". The title is pretty self explanatory as to what the theme is. The initial version, mixed by Jon Brion, had a ramshackle sound. The drums were prominent, as was a percussive piano. The production was crisp, which made the track sound a feel like it had a bite; the music and the lyrics were on the same mission . In the new version, the percussive elements are put in the background, and the song is slowed down a bit. It lacks the clenched-teeth, bitterness and the above-mentioned bite of the Jon Brion-mixed version. Therefore the music removes the energy of the lyrics, and the whole thing sounds less purposeful.
I realize that this is the third or fourth piece that I've written about Extraordinary Machine (or Fuck Sony as it was once named on the internet), which is out of proportion to how much I like the album. But there you go.
One of the best tracks on the album is a song called "Get Him Back". The title is pretty self explanatory as to what the theme is. The initial version, mixed by Jon Brion, had a ramshackle sound. The drums were prominent, as was a percussive piano. The production was crisp, which made the track sound a feel like it had a bite; the music and the lyrics were on the same mission . In the new version, the percussive elements are put in the background, and the song is slowed down a bit. It lacks the clenched-teeth, bitterness and the above-mentioned bite of the Jon Brion-mixed version. Therefore the music removes the energy of the lyrics, and the whole thing sounds less purposeful.
I realize that this is the third or fourth piece that I've written about Extraordinary Machine (or Fuck Sony as it was once named on the internet), which is out of proportion to how much I like the album. But there you go.
Friday, October 07, 2005
C-c-c-c-c-cocaine!
West coast pop/soft rock/FM rock-whutevva has been so en vogue lately, it is good to see someone daring to make fun of it again. With help from Mr. Matos, I came across these guys doing a story-behind-the-song-thingy. Hilarious.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
I am Wonder Mike and I like to say...
"Hello"!
Been listening to rap for the most part recently. As much as some people (including myself) claim that indie-hop is being outshined by more commercial hip-hop (thank you Kanye, Jay-Z, Missy) in recent years, not least in the respect that some mainstream artists have been more adventurous and innovative beat-wise than indie-hoppers, most of my favorite hip-hop records of this year are hardly recognized as mainstream.
None have mixed beats and a political stance as effectively this year as the Perceptionists, whose Black Dialogue has grown on me in recent weeks despite being released as early as April. The new Blackalicious album displays the genius that Gift of Gab can be; lyrical and smooth and fast and tricky. The beats are as bouncy and funky as you'd wish they would be. Eirik is beginning to like it too. Dangerdoom is by far the funniest rap record so far this year. MF Doom's outpouring of words brings plenty of pleasant, if not knee-slapping surprises. And the skits are good too ("Call me doggie! WOOF"). Edan's Beauty and the Beat was a strong contender earlier this year, and although I still enjoy it, I find it a bit too retro-centric and perhaps a bit one-dimensional. Blueprint's 1988 still sounds great, though. Big girls need love too. Count Base-D's mini lp Begborrowsteel is a lovely little gem, perhaps reminiscent of Common at his best, which means Like Chocolate..., not Be. Quasimoto's second offering is a bit disjointed, but that is part of why I like hin in the first place.
But having said all this, Kanye still remains a favorite, and although there is no denying his place in the mainstream (as if that was something bad), he displays more compassion, warmth and commitment through his music than mot indie-hoppers do. This year he got political too, both in and outside of music. And I'm a sucker for political art. Well, as long as it's good anyway.
Been listening to rap for the most part recently. As much as some people (including myself) claim that indie-hop is being outshined by more commercial hip-hop (thank you Kanye, Jay-Z, Missy) in recent years, not least in the respect that some mainstream artists have been more adventurous and innovative beat-wise than indie-hoppers, most of my favorite hip-hop records of this year are hardly recognized as mainstream.
None have mixed beats and a political stance as effectively this year as the Perceptionists, whose Black Dialogue has grown on me in recent weeks despite being released as early as April. The new Blackalicious album displays the genius that Gift of Gab can be; lyrical and smooth and fast and tricky. The beats are as bouncy and funky as you'd wish they would be. Eirik is beginning to like it too. Dangerdoom is by far the funniest rap record so far this year. MF Doom's outpouring of words brings plenty of pleasant, if not knee-slapping surprises. And the skits are good too ("Call me doggie! WOOF"). Edan's Beauty and the Beat was a strong contender earlier this year, and although I still enjoy it, I find it a bit too retro-centric and perhaps a bit one-dimensional. Blueprint's 1988 still sounds great, though. Big girls need love too. Count Base-D's mini lp Begborrowsteel is a lovely little gem, perhaps reminiscent of Common at his best, which means Like Chocolate..., not Be. Quasimoto's second offering is a bit disjointed, but that is part of why I like hin in the first place.
But having said all this, Kanye still remains a favorite, and although there is no denying his place in the mainstream (as if that was something bad), he displays more compassion, warmth and commitment through his music than mot indie-hoppers do. This year he got political too, both in and outside of music. And I'm a sucker for political art. Well, as long as it's good anyway.
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