Don't you think it looks eerily like me?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Bjork, LCD Soundsystem, folksters
I am going insane not knowing what the new Bjork album sounds like.
Little things like this are not making me any less antsy:
I go through this every two or three years with Bjork, though, so, whatever.
In other news, I like the new LCD Soundsystem album, Sound of Silver, a lot more than the first one. It sounds more like an "album," if you know what I mean. And mp3s and iPods and ADD be damned, I still like albums. I got an mp3 player to listen to entire albums, not to put it on "shuffle." So whatever. I sound old and defensive and stupid. And I digress. I like Sound of Silver because it's way more consistent than the self-titled album, and it has fewer half-assed stabs at different genres (only one this time, "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down").
A lot of it sounds like Trans-Europe Express-era Kraftwerk and late-70s Bowie to me. And I have no problem with that.
And finally, there was an article in the Inquirer a couple days ago about this guy Joe Boyd, who produced pretty much all of my favorite artists from the 1960s that weren't Beatles, Beach Boys, or Zombies: Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, Nico, Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan (ok, that one was 1970, but close enough). And I guess later he produced R.E.M., but that's neither here nor there. He has written a book that he is signing in the Philadelphia area for a couple days this week. Or signed. I don't remember when it was. Also, if you get what that title is a reference to and actually like it, you're either as big a dork as me or you're at least 60 years old.
Anyway, the article mentioned that he was behind a lot of the British folk music that "has influenced nouveau freak-folk artists such as Johanna Newsome and Philadelphia's Espers."
Nevermind the use of that annoying term "freak-folk" or that Joanna Newsom and Espers have little in common other than use of mostly acoustic instruments (which, to be fair, could also be said of the Incredible String Band and Nick Drake). "Johanna Newsome?" Hooray for copy-editing.
Little things like this are not making me any less antsy:
I go through this every two or three years with Bjork, though, so, whatever.
In other news, I like the new LCD Soundsystem album, Sound of Silver, a lot more than the first one. It sounds more like an "album," if you know what I mean. And mp3s and iPods and ADD be damned, I still like albums. I got an mp3 player to listen to entire albums, not to put it on "shuffle." So whatever. I sound old and defensive and stupid. And I digress. I like Sound of Silver because it's way more consistent than the self-titled album, and it has fewer half-assed stabs at different genres (only one this time, "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down").
A lot of it sounds like Trans-Europe Express-era Kraftwerk and late-70s Bowie to me. And I have no problem with that.
And finally, there was an article in the Inquirer a couple days ago about this guy Joe Boyd, who produced pretty much all of my favorite artists from the 1960s that weren't Beatles, Beach Boys, or Zombies: Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, Nico, Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan (ok, that one was 1970, but close enough). And I guess later he produced R.E.M., but that's neither here nor there. He has written a book that he is signing in the Philadelphia area for a couple days this week. Or signed. I don't remember when it was. Also, if you get what that title is a reference to and actually like it, you're either as big a dork as me or you're at least 60 years old.
Anyway, the article mentioned that he was behind a lot of the British folk music that "has influenced nouveau freak-folk artists such as Johanna Newsome and Philadelphia's Espers."
Nevermind the use of that annoying term "freak-folk" or that Joanna Newsom and Espers have little in common other than use of mostly acoustic instruments (which, to be fair, could also be said of the Incredible String Band and Nick Drake). "Johanna Newsome?" Hooray for copy-editing.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I find Amy Winehouse kind of annoying.
Or at least, I find the coverage of her to be annoying.
The theory I'm working on is that people apparently find substance abuse by British women to be glamorous and edgy, and not sad and pathetic.
A somewhat related theory is that if the same exact music was released by a black American and not a white Brit, people (press types or whoever) would be far less inclined to pay any attention at all.
Or at least, I find the coverage of her to be annoying.
The theory I'm working on is that people apparently find substance abuse by British women to be glamorous and edgy, and not sad and pathetic.
A somewhat related theory is that if the same exact music was released by a black American and not a white Brit, people (press types or whoever) would be far less inclined to pay any attention at all.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
TV is dumb
I don't usually get too bothered when a TV show I like gets canceled or otherwise goes off the air prematurely. The most notable and most recent example was Arrested Development, whose bandwagon I was (un)lucky enough to get on toward the beginning of its run, which caused a lot of "will it get canceled?!" agony after every season. But I didn't get too upset when it went off the air, a subject that I covered here. Because after all, it's only TV. And I don't watch a whole lot of TV anyway.
But then last night I was bored enough to be flipping through channels (I sat down to watch the Flyers, and it quickly became clear that they weren't going to give me a whole lot to watch), and I noticed something:
Jim Belushi still has a TV show.
According to Jim has been on the air for 138 episodes and counting, which means it is approaching the point where it will have been on the air for almost three times as many episodes as Arrested Development.
Life just isn't fair, is it?
But then last night I was bored enough to be flipping through channels (I sat down to watch the Flyers, and it quickly became clear that they weren't going to give me a whole lot to watch), and I noticed something:
Jim Belushi still has a TV show.
According to Jim has been on the air for 138 episodes and counting, which means it is approaching the point where it will have been on the air for almost three times as many episodes as Arrested Development.
Life just isn't fair, is it?
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
I like Gruff Rhys
It may be hard to tell sometimes, but I actually do like music. Although Os Mutantes' self-titled album and Robert Wyatt's Rock Bottom are really the only albums ever made that are good. And "Mother" by Danzig is the only other good song. And "Mother" by John Lennon. But not "Mother" by the Police, though. And definitely not "Mother" by Pink Floyd.
Anyway, I like the Super Furry Animals. And I like Gruff Rhys. Gruff's first solo album was released with little (or no) fanfare in something like the second week of January in 2005, and like you would expect from a solo album by a member of a band that relatively few people have heard of, it sank like a stone. It was overshadowed by the Super Furry Animals' magnificent Love Kraft several months later, and in fact, I forgot it existed at all until I started thinking of ways to approach his new solo album, Candylion. Like its predecessor, it was released in early January, and sure enough, there is a Super Furry Animals album slated to come out later this year.
The real point is, Candylion is pretty damn good. Like his first solo album, it's a lot more low key and lo-fi than any SFA stuff. But unlike his first solo album, (which was called Yr Atal Genhedlaeth if you're wondering why I'm not referring to it by name) this one is actually interesting. And, thankfully, not sung completely in Welsh.
If nothing else, Candylion offers an intriguing look at what the Super Furry Animals might be like as a rootsy psychedelic band instead of the genre-hopping madmen that they are. Their last couple albums have turned down the insanity, but not as much as Candylion does. The more stripped-down approach definitely highlights Rhys' strong pop sensibilities. Most of these songs are hummable after only a couple listens.
Of course, "low key" and "lo-fi" are relative terms when dealing with Gruff Rhys. The record does feature a few sweeping string arrangements and the occasional psychedelic meltdown, and by most people's standards the sound itself is gorgeously crystal clear. But it has a spontaneous quality that most of his other work doesn't. (The Super Furry Animals' sound is a more deliberately constructed aural assault.)
Final summary, for those of you who just skipped to the last paragraph: for an album that serves as something sort of thrown-off in between "real" projects, Candylion is surprisingly good. There's always the option of turning off the 13 minute snooze-fest album closer "Skylon!" halfway through, which makes it even better. A coupla highlights for the downloaders, if you're so inclined: "Lonesome Words" and "The Court of King Arthur."
Anyway, I like the Super Furry Animals. And I like Gruff Rhys. Gruff's first solo album was released with little (or no) fanfare in something like the second week of January in 2005, and like you would expect from a solo album by a member of a band that relatively few people have heard of, it sank like a stone. It was overshadowed by the Super Furry Animals' magnificent Love Kraft several months later, and in fact, I forgot it existed at all until I started thinking of ways to approach his new solo album, Candylion. Like its predecessor, it was released in early January, and sure enough, there is a Super Furry Animals album slated to come out later this year.
The real point is, Candylion is pretty damn good. Like his first solo album, it's a lot more low key and lo-fi than any SFA stuff. But unlike his first solo album, (which was called Yr Atal Genhedlaeth if you're wondering why I'm not referring to it by name) this one is actually interesting. And, thankfully, not sung completely in Welsh.
If nothing else, Candylion offers an intriguing look at what the Super Furry Animals might be like as a rootsy psychedelic band instead of the genre-hopping madmen that they are. Their last couple albums have turned down the insanity, but not as much as Candylion does. The more stripped-down approach definitely highlights Rhys' strong pop sensibilities. Most of these songs are hummable after only a couple listens.
Of course, "low key" and "lo-fi" are relative terms when dealing with Gruff Rhys. The record does feature a few sweeping string arrangements and the occasional psychedelic meltdown, and by most people's standards the sound itself is gorgeously crystal clear. But it has a spontaneous quality that most of his other work doesn't. (The Super Furry Animals' sound is a more deliberately constructed aural assault.)
Final summary, for those of you who just skipped to the last paragraph: for an album that serves as something sort of thrown-off in between "real" projects, Candylion is surprisingly good. There's always the option of turning off the 13 minute snooze-fest album closer "Skylon!" halfway through, which makes it even better. A coupla highlights for the downloaders, if you're so inclined: "Lonesome Words" and "The Court of King Arthur."
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Yes it is, Yes it is, Yes it is...
I had a dream a couple nights ago that I was playing bass for some band, and we were doing a bitchin' cover version of "Roundabout" by Yes.
Do I like Yes? I don't think I do. That song does have a pretty cool bass part, though.
Do I like Yes? I don't think I do. That song does have a pretty cool bass part, though.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Marissa Nadler
I saw Marissa Nadler last fall, opening up for The Valerie Project. At the time, I didn't much care for her. She stood on the stage alone with her guitar (with backup vocals from an anonymous female on a select few songs) and played repetitive songs that didn't tend to go anywhere or do much of anything, that all sounded exactly the same. Her stage demeanor suggested a really ditzy version of Joan Baez. I had the vague (and vaguely sexist) feeling that she wouldn't have been on the stage if she wasn't so amazingly gorgeous.
I sat twiddling my thumbs for 45 minutes waiting for it to end, and assumed I'd never think about her again after it was over.
So I was somewhat surprised when, in my recent internet browsings, I came across a couple positive reviews of her new album, Songs III: Bird on the Water (I have no idea what happened to Songs I and II). Everything written about it is sure to mention that it was produced by Espers' Greg Weeks, and that most of Espers show up playing something or other. Reading that is when I decided I needed to hear it, of course. (My Espers obsession is well-documented here, if you have the patience to look.)
Well, here's what I think: Marissa Nadler is still kind of boring to me. Most of the songs still sound the same, and most of them still seem to kind of float around waiting for something that never happens. However, I don't dislike her, and I really liked some of the songs. I have a feeling that if I listened to it in the right mood, or by myself in the dark late at night, I might enjoy it. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt that maybe it's a grower, and I haven't been with it long enough yet.
Greg Weeks, meanwhile, is well on his way to making a nice second career for himself as the producer of choice for the psych-folk set. His work here is more subtle than on last year's Fern Knight album, Music for Witches and Alchemists (not to mention Espers II), and more in the background. It doesn't seem like a "Marissa Nadler and Greg Weeks" album, the way the Fern Knight album kind of sounded like a "Fern Knight and Greg Weeks" album. He still shows up a few times with his fuzzed out Les Paul for some psychedelic guitar work, exploring the notes in between the notes like a rudimentary John Coltrane (and it's still hard to tell sometimes if that's intentional or if he just records all his parts in one take without having played the song before), but the songs never take a backseat to that the way they do sometimes with Espers (and really, that's just a whole different aesthetic and musical philosophy at work). And for the most part, everything is quiet and low key, with barely-there splashes of organ and synth augmenting things. In short, the album sounds great.
I sat twiddling my thumbs for 45 minutes waiting for it to end, and assumed I'd never think about her again after it was over.
So I was somewhat surprised when, in my recent internet browsings, I came across a couple positive reviews of her new album, Songs III: Bird on the Water (I have no idea what happened to Songs I and II). Everything written about it is sure to mention that it was produced by Espers' Greg Weeks, and that most of Espers show up playing something or other. Reading that is when I decided I needed to hear it, of course. (My Espers obsession is well-documented here, if you have the patience to look.)
Well, here's what I think: Marissa Nadler is still kind of boring to me. Most of the songs still sound the same, and most of them still seem to kind of float around waiting for something that never happens. However, I don't dislike her, and I really liked some of the songs. I have a feeling that if I listened to it in the right mood, or by myself in the dark late at night, I might enjoy it. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt that maybe it's a grower, and I haven't been with it long enough yet.
Greg Weeks, meanwhile, is well on his way to making a nice second career for himself as the producer of choice for the psych-folk set. His work here is more subtle than on last year's Fern Knight album, Music for Witches and Alchemists (not to mention Espers II), and more in the background. It doesn't seem like a "Marissa Nadler and Greg Weeks" album, the way the Fern Knight album kind of sounded like a "Fern Knight and Greg Weeks" album. He still shows up a few times with his fuzzed out Les Paul for some psychedelic guitar work, exploring the notes in between the notes like a rudimentary John Coltrane (and it's still hard to tell sometimes if that's intentional or if he just records all his parts in one take without having played the song before), but the songs never take a backseat to that the way they do sometimes with Espers (and really, that's just a whole different aesthetic and musical philosophy at work). And for the most part, everything is quiet and low key, with barely-there splashes of organ and synth augmenting things. In short, the album sounds great.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
My first music post of 2007
Well, Eddie Murphy ruined this year's "the Oscars are predictable" rant by making Norbit and reminding everybody of the kind of crap he's been doing for almost two decades. Plus, putting Eddie Murphy in that sort of spotlight apparently started reminding people that he's kind of a dick. Or at least creepily eccentric. So I was glad to see that upset happen.
And now, after a break of sorts, back to the regularly scheduled music-related posting. I could break this thing up into a half dozen posts, but I'm too lazy to do that much writing. So instead, here are:
Music Reviews That Are So Short That They Are Pointless: 2007 Edition
Yaaay! Excited? Here we go.
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity - I've never really understood a lot of what people write about Deerhoof. For one thing, having a Japanese woman singing has inspired a lot of weirdly misguided descriptions of their sound. "Yoko Ono meets the B-52s." Whaaa? Also, I don't really buy the conventional wisdom that they're only now, with their last couple albums, becoming "accessible" or whatever. They've always had the "pop" side and the "weird" side, as far as I can tell. Anyway, Friend Opportunity is really good. "The Perfect Me" is one of the best songs I've heard so far this year, and a hell of a way to kick off an album. It's a great explosive album opening song in the vein of... *racks brain* "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2? "Baba O'Riley?" "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" from Thriller? I'm having trouble with this one. Anyway, the whole thing is good, but I don't feel like writing much about it. "The Perfect Me" has a cute li'l video which can be viewed here.
Dr. Dog - We All Belong - West Philly dudes getting bigger by the day. Dr. Dog will never be anybody's favorite band, and they'll never release any great albums, but they'll probably have a solid career releasing charming lo-fi throwback pop and encouraging drunken sing-alongs at their shows. This is another one for my "ridiculously derivative music is ok if it sounds like 60s pop" collection (and now that I'm reading that item, I see I actually mentioned Dr. Dog in it). Here's my suggestion to Dr. Dog: for the next album, hire Darian Sahanaja to produce, and he'll clean up that sound and sharpen those harmonies. Then those string and horn flourishes won't sound so out of place, and I'll really like ya.
Deerhunter - Cryptograms - Here is what the birth of this album sounded like: "Hey guys, I just got this delay pedal, you think we can use it for anything?" Apparently all it takes to make music that is considered "experimental" is to surround a bunch of generic "indie rock" songs with a bunch of echo-laden guitar. Oh wait, I guess they crammed those boring "soundscape" things in there too. Those are no more or less interesting than the stuff I do when I'm screwing around with my guitar (and my delay pedal) by myself when I'm bored. The whole affair is mind-numbingly average.
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? - This is supposedly Kevin Barnes' breakup album, except he got back together with his wife, so... whatever. It starts shaping up like the best Of Montreal album I've heard, then it runs smack into a brick wall 'round about track 7, a 12 minute exercise in repetition called "The Past is a Grotesque Animal." It is beyond boring. It completely kills the album's momentum, and by the time the damn thing finally wraps up, I have a hard time actually paying attention to the remaining five songs. I could go on about why that track is so stupid, but I don't feel like it. The rest of it is fairly good. If they cut out that one song, they'd have a damn good album on their hands.
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone - Most discussions of Explosions in the Sky start with acknowledging that the stupidly named genre of "post rock" lends itself by its nature to a sort of repetition and sameness, which makes it ok that this album sounds exactly the same as the last one. I call bullshit on that. Let's think about what most people consider to be the biggest names in the genre. Have Mogwai ever released two albums that sound the same? Have Do Make Say Think? Tortoise? Even Godspeed You Black Emperor! has managed to vary it up, and when they found themselves unable to do so they went on an indefinite hiatus. So with that said, the new Explosions in the Sky album sounds exactly like their last one. And all the songs sound the same too. I think it's boring and pointless.
And now, after a break of sorts, back to the regularly scheduled music-related posting. I could break this thing up into a half dozen posts, but I'm too lazy to do that much writing. So instead, here are:
Music Reviews That Are So Short That They Are Pointless: 2007 Edition
Yaaay! Excited? Here we go.
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity - I've never really understood a lot of what people write about Deerhoof. For one thing, having a Japanese woman singing has inspired a lot of weirdly misguided descriptions of their sound. "Yoko Ono meets the B-52s." Whaaa? Also, I don't really buy the conventional wisdom that they're only now, with their last couple albums, becoming "accessible" or whatever. They've always had the "pop" side and the "weird" side, as far as I can tell. Anyway, Friend Opportunity is really good. "The Perfect Me" is one of the best songs I've heard so far this year, and a hell of a way to kick off an album. It's a great explosive album opening song in the vein of... *racks brain* "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by U2? "Baba O'Riley?" "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" from Thriller? I'm having trouble with this one. Anyway, the whole thing is good, but I don't feel like writing much about it. "The Perfect Me" has a cute li'l video which can be viewed here.
Dr. Dog - We All Belong - West Philly dudes getting bigger by the day. Dr. Dog will never be anybody's favorite band, and they'll never release any great albums, but they'll probably have a solid career releasing charming lo-fi throwback pop and encouraging drunken sing-alongs at their shows. This is another one for my "ridiculously derivative music is ok if it sounds like 60s pop" collection (and now that I'm reading that item, I see I actually mentioned Dr. Dog in it). Here's my suggestion to Dr. Dog: for the next album, hire Darian Sahanaja to produce, and he'll clean up that sound and sharpen those harmonies. Then those string and horn flourishes won't sound so out of place, and I'll really like ya.
Deerhunter - Cryptograms - Here is what the birth of this album sounded like: "Hey guys, I just got this delay pedal, you think we can use it for anything?" Apparently all it takes to make music that is considered "experimental" is to surround a bunch of generic "indie rock" songs with a bunch of echo-laden guitar. Oh wait, I guess they crammed those boring "soundscape" things in there too. Those are no more or less interesting than the stuff I do when I'm screwing around with my guitar (and my delay pedal) by myself when I'm bored. The whole affair is mind-numbingly average.
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? - This is supposedly Kevin Barnes' breakup album, except he got back together with his wife, so... whatever. It starts shaping up like the best Of Montreal album I've heard, then it runs smack into a brick wall 'round about track 7, a 12 minute exercise in repetition called "The Past is a Grotesque Animal." It is beyond boring. It completely kills the album's momentum, and by the time the damn thing finally wraps up, I have a hard time actually paying attention to the remaining five songs. I could go on about why that track is so stupid, but I don't feel like it. The rest of it is fairly good. If they cut out that one song, they'd have a damn good album on their hands.
Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone - Most discussions of Explosions in the Sky start with acknowledging that the stupidly named genre of "post rock" lends itself by its nature to a sort of repetition and sameness, which makes it ok that this album sounds exactly the same as the last one. I call bullshit on that. Let's think about what most people consider to be the biggest names in the genre. Have Mogwai ever released two albums that sound the same? Have Do Make Say Think? Tortoise? Even Godspeed You Black Emperor! has managed to vary it up, and when they found themselves unable to do so they went on an indefinite hiatus. So with that said, the new Explosions in the Sky album sounds exactly like their last one. And all the songs sound the same too. I think it's boring and pointless.
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