For the first time in a while, Fork'd.
Why? Why do I bother with this kind of stuff. I guess because its amicable to working while programming. But it is simply not a genre I have anything useful to say about. Which, I guess means that its fine for listening to - I'm not going to not listen to it just because I don't want to have to struggle to write a review - but its not really all that worthwhile as review fodder.
There's some noises, they echo, they crackle, they surge. There's no beat. Pretty, noisy, scary surges though.
I will grant it this, In the Fog (parts 1-3!) is legitimately unsettling. Its spooky on a level I can't place. But the fact is, this isn't fun to listen to, and I think there's plenty of more interesting chin-scratchery to be found. Plus, with song titles like Hatred of Music, Analog Paralysis 1978, and Studio Suicide (to say nothing of the album title!), I get the idea that Hecker thinks this is more important than I do. It sounds like dubstep without the bass or the beats, a step past The King of Limbs.
Look, I kind of respect this. It is spooky and affecting in a way that I don't often find. But this is not my style of music, and I have to stop trying to wring reviews from places my heart can't provide. Possibly brilliant, I wouldn't know. It occurs to me that if this was a Radiohead album, I might listen closer and find brilliance in the crannies. But my first impression didn't blow me away, just not for me 2/5
Friday, March 4, 2011
#312 MF Doom - Special Herbs vol. 1 & 2
Doom recently released a box set of 10 or so of these special herbs albums. I like (love) Doom. Let's start with a release's worth though.
Well, its instrumental versions of MF Doom songs. If you're heard MF Doom songs, subtract vocals, off you go. If not, what's wrong with you? Start with Vaudeville Villain.
Ok, ok. Well, as instrumental hip hop goes, its...ok. The loops are groovy, out of time, crusty, with soul to spare. They sound, at their best moments, like something of Endtroducing, sure. But on an overall flow level, there's little progression, not much arc, not a lot of room to transport you, move you, even. Each track finds its groove and doesn't deviate from it much.
I mostly finished this because it made for decent work music. I can't say I have any need to revisit it though (let alone hear the remaining 8 or so volumes); if I want instrumental hip hop, I have better choices, and if I want these particular loops, I'd rather hear them with Doom's exceptional flow over top. Enough groove for a generous 2.5/5
Well, its instrumental versions of MF Doom songs. If you're heard MF Doom songs, subtract vocals, off you go. If not, what's wrong with you? Start with Vaudeville Villain.
Ok, ok. Well, as instrumental hip hop goes, its...ok. The loops are groovy, out of time, crusty, with soul to spare. They sound, at their best moments, like something of Endtroducing, sure. But on an overall flow level, there's little progression, not much arc, not a lot of room to transport you, move you, even. Each track finds its groove and doesn't deviate from it much.
I mostly finished this because it made for decent work music. I can't say I have any need to revisit it though (let alone hear the remaining 8 or so volumes); if I want instrumental hip hop, I have better choices, and if I want these particular loops, I'd rather hear them with Doom's exceptional flow over top. Enough groove for a generous 2.5/5
Thursday, March 3, 2011
#311 Kanye West - 808's and Heartbreak
I really liked his latest album, and never really heard this one. Also, its a pretty divisive one, so I'm curious to hear what its all about.
In case you hadn't heard, this album features, instead of rapping, Kanye crooning, highly autotuned, over synths. Which sounds terrible. When this came out, I hadn't heard anything by this guy that had impressed me, and this certainly sounded like a recipe for disaster.
In practice, as I hear it today, its actually kind of awesome. There's a lot of the seeds of MBDTF's best moments on here, from the lengthy opener, to the adventurous approach to beats and oilslick rainbow overproduction, to the stripped bare emotional content. Kanye reveals himself, on this album and its followup, to be a tortured, neurotic, bizarre, oversized personality, but one that is strangely relatable somehow. I think in terms of personality, he and I might have a thing or two in common, he just happens to be crazy rich and famous. Or maybe crazy, rich, and famous. And his fears play out on epic stages, blowing up with synths and noise and robot souls.
As far as the infamous autotuning, I think it works pretty well here. It's artificial, but still manages to carry some emotional heft, serving to make Kanye's voice more menacing, more vulnerable, and inexplicably, more human. If nothing else, making this album is such an insane, unusual move that I can't help but at least respect it on that level. Highlights include opener Say You Will, the atmospheric single Amazing, the stompy Love Lockdown, and (especially) the curiously, joyously exuberant Robocop.
Then again, I have to confess I suspect I wouldn't have liked this if I'd heard this when it first came out. MBDTF helps to inform what Kanye was going for here. In the context of that album's opener, its Flashing Lights / Monster freakout, and (especially) Runaway's synthed-to-oblivion confessionals, this album seems like a test run for some of that album's best ideas. On its own, this seems like a bit of a weird, indulgent near-failure - but now it seems like a nascent prequel, the boy that became the man.
I really did not like any of Kanye's college-era albums, finding them grossly, blindingly overrated, and it is baffling to me how much his last album turned me around. I wonder if the dropout/registration/graduation set would sound better to me now, or if his new stuff is just more my style. I can't figure the guy out, and I think that's part of the appeal. If its all part of his plan, point given Kanye. Well played, sir. 4.5/5
In case you hadn't heard, this album features, instead of rapping, Kanye crooning, highly autotuned, over synths. Which sounds terrible. When this came out, I hadn't heard anything by this guy that had impressed me, and this certainly sounded like a recipe for disaster.
In practice, as I hear it today, its actually kind of awesome. There's a lot of the seeds of MBDTF's best moments on here, from the lengthy opener, to the adventurous approach to beats and oilslick rainbow overproduction, to the stripped bare emotional content. Kanye reveals himself, on this album and its followup, to be a tortured, neurotic, bizarre, oversized personality, but one that is strangely relatable somehow. I think in terms of personality, he and I might have a thing or two in common, he just happens to be crazy rich and famous. Or maybe crazy, rich, and famous. And his fears play out on epic stages, blowing up with synths and noise and robot souls.
As far as the infamous autotuning, I think it works pretty well here. It's artificial, but still manages to carry some emotional heft, serving to make Kanye's voice more menacing, more vulnerable, and inexplicably, more human. If nothing else, making this album is such an insane, unusual move that I can't help but at least respect it on that level. Highlights include opener Say You Will, the atmospheric single Amazing, the stompy Love Lockdown, and (especially) the curiously, joyously exuberant Robocop.
Then again, I have to confess I suspect I wouldn't have liked this if I'd heard this when it first came out. MBDTF helps to inform what Kanye was going for here. In the context of that album's opener, its Flashing Lights / Monster freakout, and (especially) Runaway's synthed-to-oblivion confessionals, this album seems like a test run for some of that album's best ideas. On its own, this seems like a bit of a weird, indulgent near-failure - but now it seems like a nascent prequel, the boy that became the man.
I really did not like any of Kanye's college-era albums, finding them grossly, blindingly overrated, and it is baffling to me how much his last album turned me around. I wonder if the dropout/registration/graduation set would sound better to me now, or if his new stuff is just more my style. I can't figure the guy out, and I think that's part of the appeal. If its all part of his plan, point given Kanye. Well played, sir. 4.5/5
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
#310 Mike Watt - Hyphenated-Man
Another Adam rec.
Man, this comes out of the gates hard. Those are some catchy-ass basslines. Totally hooked.
I have certain reference points that I can't seem to get away from: I seem to repeatedly use comparisons to Guided by Voices to describe acts that are
* lo-fi
* effortlessly catchy
* liable to spit out dozens of songs at a time
* prone to writing simple, brisk and chorusless songs
In this case, it is the last 3 that apply, as it is just one effortlessly catchy, inventive, wildly varying song after another (the production is actually pretty good, losing it some DiY I-could-do-this charm, gaining it a large degree of listenability). It also reminds me of 69 Love Songs - all of these songs are good, the album wheeling off from one idea to another, going on and on, just more ideas than it knows what to do with, too much talent to stop effortlessly throwing off good lines and hooks and melodies. But eventually, by song #30, man, that lack of structure gets exhausting. There's a reason that a movie is easier to watch than 50 two-minute shorts, that overarching thread provides context for each idea.
I actually like shorter, chorusless songs (see The Unicorns, GBV), and the bass playing is unsurprisingly excellent, and Watt's voice has actually aged well enough, managing some Shatneresque pathos, and still mustering a powerful enough strained yell when it's needed. Pretty good for 53. The songs are vaguely minutemeney, angular, jagged, Gang-of-Four-but-more-fun bursts of sounds, quitting as soon as they've made their point. One after another, pop pop pop burst burst burst stab stab stab done. Fun, exhausting.
The most obvious point of reference is obviously, actually, Double Nickels on the Dime, which is an expansive set of songs that defies easy encapsulation. If I give this half the time I gave that classic I'm sure it will grow on me. Hyphenated-Man doesn't have the same sun-parched jitter, but it has some of the same spirit, and it is certainly the finest post-Minutemen release I've heard from Watt yet 4/5
Man, this comes out of the gates hard. Those are some catchy-ass basslines. Totally hooked.
I have certain reference points that I can't seem to get away from: I seem to repeatedly use comparisons to Guided by Voices to describe acts that are
* lo-fi
* effortlessly catchy
* liable to spit out dozens of songs at a time
* prone to writing simple, brisk and chorusless songs
In this case, it is the last 3 that apply, as it is just one effortlessly catchy, inventive, wildly varying song after another (the production is actually pretty good, losing it some DiY I-could-do-this charm, gaining it a large degree of listenability). It also reminds me of 69 Love Songs - all of these songs are good, the album wheeling off from one idea to another, going on and on, just more ideas than it knows what to do with, too much talent to stop effortlessly throwing off good lines and hooks and melodies. But eventually, by song #30, man, that lack of structure gets exhausting. There's a reason that a movie is easier to watch than 50 two-minute shorts, that overarching thread provides context for each idea.
I actually like shorter, chorusless songs (see The Unicorns, GBV), and the bass playing is unsurprisingly excellent, and Watt's voice has actually aged well enough, managing some Shatneresque pathos, and still mustering a powerful enough strained yell when it's needed. Pretty good for 53. The songs are vaguely minutemeney, angular, jagged, Gang-of-Four-but-more-fun bursts of sounds, quitting as soon as they've made their point. One after another, pop pop pop burst burst burst stab stab stab done. Fun, exhausting.
The most obvious point of reference is obviously, actually, Double Nickels on the Dime, which is an expansive set of songs that defies easy encapsulation. If I give this half the time I gave that classic I'm sure it will grow on me. Hyphenated-Man doesn't have the same sun-parched jitter, but it has some of the same spirit, and it is certainly the finest post-Minutemen release I've heard from Watt yet 4/5
#309 Steely Dan - Countdown to Ecstacy
In one of the most roundabout origin stories ever: I was listening to a rap album that sounded like it sampled Steely Dan's Peg, thought that would make a pretty sweet sample, found out someone else had already used it (which probably gave me the idea, Marfa-dream style), and said, hey, I kind of like Steely Dan, I should probably hear one of his albums.
There was a recent run of light beer ads that talked about how the beer had superior "drinkability", which is the most brilliant thing to hang your beer on if you're trying to appeal to people who drink beer unthinkingly at social events. Is it delicious, satisfying, pleasant? Not necessarily, but man, it is no trouble at all to drink it. Oh! Oh how I railed against the insipid logic behind this ad. But this album might have changed my mind.
The way I want to describe this album is "listenable". But. But! I actually don't mean that in such a bad way. This album is easy to listen to. It is smooth, perfectly produced and mixed (as is the band's reputation), with a bit of soul, a bit of jazz, some stomping rock beats where it needs them, fancy moves perfectly timed and perfectly controlled. And I rather like it. Because the fact is, underneath the sheen, there is actually a fair amount of complexity, some expert playing, and more ambition and reach than you might expect. It's music that actually rewards close listening, actually keeps you on your toes, sounding like the best post-Hackett-pre-self-titled-album era Genesis songs (say, Abacab, Behind the Lines, Duke's Travels). When I spend all this time listening to "difficult" music, its a nice reprieve to find something that is pleasant to listen to without being boring. It's an interesting sweet spot.
And dammit, if I'm being honest, while I like myself a sierra nevada or a delirium or a stone, sometimes can after can of watery domestic is not such a bad reprieve.
On this subject, here's your homework. Is Steely Dan cool? They sound like they could be a band that serious music people despise or a band that serious music people respect. They seem like a band that it would be uncool to like, but also a band that it would be uncool not to like. They're a band that I feel inclined to say "actually, they're a lot better than you think" but then, I don't know whether I'm going to get a skeptical look that says "No, Steely Dan sucks" or a skeptical look that says "what do you mean 'actually'? Steely Dan rules". I usually know what a band's status is among the music listening populace and its various subfactions, but this one seems like a chameleon on that matter. Its strengths are its weaknesses.
Why does it matter what the world thinks? I guess I'm interested in positioning myself in the world of music listenership, finding my likes and dislikes, my overlaps and points of conflicts with various contingents. Music listenership is a language, and I'm trying to learn all the words, and there is no definition under Steely Dan.
I guess I'll have to actually listen to the music on its own.
It is too polished at times, a little repetitive at times, the vocals a little bit (a lot) too smooth. But for whatever reason, it isn't boring. It goes down smooth, but the way a decent Belgian does, not the way a Coors Light does. There's an legitimately exciting tempo change or paradigm shift at least once a song, with occasional touches of gritty (if well-honed) exuberance that evoke Exile on Main Street and the best Springsteen. And a couple of the songs are legitimately adventurous, on Your Gold Teeth and the epic tail-end-Genesis-evoking King of the World. And tell me that 2/3rds-thru breakdown on Boston Rag doesn't rock.
I think Steely Dan is a test. My answer is that it has all the trappings of sucking, but if you actually listen to it, it does not suck. I don't know if it means I pass or fail, but I put it at the high end of 4/5
Edit: also, after about 10 years of listening to the Super Furries' The Man Don't Give a Fuck, randomly I find out its oft-repeated, core sample is a one-off line from Show Biz Kids. Which, strangely, makes both songs way more awesome by association.
There was a recent run of light beer ads that talked about how the beer had superior "drinkability", which is the most brilliant thing to hang your beer on if you're trying to appeal to people who drink beer unthinkingly at social events. Is it delicious, satisfying, pleasant? Not necessarily, but man, it is no trouble at all to drink it. Oh! Oh how I railed against the insipid logic behind this ad. But this album might have changed my mind.
The way I want to describe this album is "listenable". But. But! I actually don't mean that in such a bad way. This album is easy to listen to. It is smooth, perfectly produced and mixed (as is the band's reputation), with a bit of soul, a bit of jazz, some stomping rock beats where it needs them, fancy moves perfectly timed and perfectly controlled. And I rather like it. Because the fact is, underneath the sheen, there is actually a fair amount of complexity, some expert playing, and more ambition and reach than you might expect. It's music that actually rewards close listening, actually keeps you on your toes, sounding like the best post-Hackett-pre-self-titled-album era Genesis songs (say, Abacab, Behind the Lines, Duke's Travels). When I spend all this time listening to "difficult" music, its a nice reprieve to find something that is pleasant to listen to without being boring. It's an interesting sweet spot.
And dammit, if I'm being honest, while I like myself a sierra nevada or a delirium or a stone, sometimes can after can of watery domestic is not such a bad reprieve.
On this subject, here's your homework. Is Steely Dan cool? They sound like they could be a band that serious music people despise or a band that serious music people respect. They seem like a band that it would be uncool to like, but also a band that it would be uncool not to like. They're a band that I feel inclined to say "actually, they're a lot better than you think" but then, I don't know whether I'm going to get a skeptical look that says "No, Steely Dan sucks" or a skeptical look that says "what do you mean 'actually'? Steely Dan rules". I usually know what a band's status is among the music listening populace and its various subfactions, but this one seems like a chameleon on that matter. Its strengths are its weaknesses.
Why does it matter what the world thinks? I guess I'm interested in positioning myself in the world of music listenership, finding my likes and dislikes, my overlaps and points of conflicts with various contingents. Music listenership is a language, and I'm trying to learn all the words, and there is no definition under Steely Dan.
I guess I'll have to actually listen to the music on its own.
It is too polished at times, a little repetitive at times, the vocals a little bit (a lot) too smooth. But for whatever reason, it isn't boring. It goes down smooth, but the way a decent Belgian does, not the way a Coors Light does. There's an legitimately exciting tempo change or paradigm shift at least once a song, with occasional touches of gritty (if well-honed) exuberance that evoke Exile on Main Street and the best Springsteen. And a couple of the songs are legitimately adventurous, on Your Gold Teeth and the epic tail-end-Genesis-evoking King of the World. And tell me that 2/3rds-thru breakdown on Boston Rag doesn't rock.
I think Steely Dan is a test. My answer is that it has all the trappings of sucking, but if you actually listen to it, it does not suck. I don't know if it means I pass or fail, but I put it at the high end of 4/5
Edit: also, after about 10 years of listening to the Super Furries' The Man Don't Give a Fuck, randomly I find out its oft-repeated, core sample is a one-off line from Show Biz Kids. Which, strangely, makes both songs way more awesome by association.
#308 Half Japanese - Charmed Life
Adam recommended these guys via #286, and I had my misgivings. Adam and AMG compare them to the shaggs, who I didn't especially like. What I read also more generally suggested that I was in for a pretty unlistenable experience.
Granting that this is supposed to be their most accessible early album, this was a lot more pleasant than I was expecting. There's actually a lot of fun, loud, fast, punk rock, but with more heart, inventiveness and hookiness than I could have imagined, landing somewhere between Guided by Voices, The Cramps, Ween, The Velvet Underground and [some really specific punk band with crazy horn riffs I heard recently that I now can't remember]. The horns are a key move, providing a ragged, focused melodic.
The whole thing is pretty ramshackle, but not as formless as the band's reputation for unstructured technique would suggest. There's a certain no wave tunelessness, but its usually underneath enough structure and rock energy to keep it from ruining the song. I guess by now they'd gotten some others who knew how to play on board. There's totally real solos and real talented playing on display. As punk goes this is more Minutemen than Sex Pistols.
Pretty fun stuff, curious to backtrack to their more pure stuff and see if I can handle it 4/5
Granting that this is supposed to be their most accessible early album, this was a lot more pleasant than I was expecting. There's actually a lot of fun, loud, fast, punk rock, but with more heart, inventiveness and hookiness than I could have imagined, landing somewhere between Guided by Voices, The Cramps, Ween, The Velvet Underground and [some really specific punk band with crazy horn riffs I heard recently that I now can't remember]. The horns are a key move, providing a ragged, focused melodic.
The whole thing is pretty ramshackle, but not as formless as the band's reputation for unstructured technique would suggest. There's a certain no wave tunelessness, but its usually underneath enough structure and rock energy to keep it from ruining the song. I guess by now they'd gotten some others who knew how to play on board. There's totally real solos and real talented playing on display. As punk goes this is more Minutemen than Sex Pistols.
Pretty fun stuff, curious to backtrack to their more pure stuff and see if I can handle it 4/5
#307 Ice Cube - Death Certificate
AMG says this one is good - I had previously satisfied myself with Amerikkka's Most Wanted, but I was curious where else he had to go with that approach.
I'm hard to please when it comes to rap. I love hard-hitting, sharp-edged, percussive rapping, but I still find endless murder fantasies numbing, and the two go hand in hand. Ice Cube is probably the best example. His rhyme structures aren't especially inventive. You know going in that all the rhymes are going to be at the end of the line, but at least he spends the rest of the line setting up that whip-crack at the end to hit hard, over and over and over again. The problem is that it's so relentless, so often about killing dudes or selling drugs or bitches and ho's and all the usual stuff. There's some jokey stuff mixed in that I don't remember there being much of on AMW, and for the most part it clashes with the violence. Look, are you a stone cold killer or the court jester? Trying to be both seems more unseemly than either.
On the other hand, there are moments here where Cube seems insecure, frustrated and scared, which makes him more human. At least for a while. Then its killing time again.
Productionwise, there are some great basslines and some pretty good beats, especially after the death/life turnaround in the middle. The pacing is snappy for a while, but then, like so many rap albums of the era, it long overstays its welcome.
I don't think this guy is for me, but it was worth hearing another album's worth. I'm slowly starting to get what the golden age scene was about, which is a tricky project for someone who couldn't be less in the target audience, and who only started listening to this stuff years after the era had ended 2.5/5
I'm hard to please when it comes to rap. I love hard-hitting, sharp-edged, percussive rapping, but I still find endless murder fantasies numbing, and the two go hand in hand. Ice Cube is probably the best example. His rhyme structures aren't especially inventive. You know going in that all the rhymes are going to be at the end of the line, but at least he spends the rest of the line setting up that whip-crack at the end to hit hard, over and over and over again. The problem is that it's so relentless, so often about killing dudes or selling drugs or bitches and ho's and all the usual stuff. There's some jokey stuff mixed in that I don't remember there being much of on AMW, and for the most part it clashes with the violence. Look, are you a stone cold killer or the court jester? Trying to be both seems more unseemly than either.
On the other hand, there are moments here where Cube seems insecure, frustrated and scared, which makes him more human. At least for a while. Then its killing time again.
Productionwise, there are some great basslines and some pretty good beats, especially after the death/life turnaround in the middle. The pacing is snappy for a while, but then, like so many rap albums of the era, it long overstays its welcome.
I don't think this guy is for me, but it was worth hearing another album's worth. I'm slowly starting to get what the golden age scene was about, which is a tricky project for someone who couldn't be less in the target audience, and who only started listening to this stuff years after the era had ended 2.5/5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)