I've been listening to Vaudeville Villain a ton lately (the single biggest oversight on my 00's album list) and went looking for more Doom stuff. This got some pretty lukewarm reviews, but heck, I'll give it a shot.
This is more or less the MF Doom scene as usual. There's the usual mostly repetitive, slightly weathered, fairly straightforward production, with just enough creaky atmosphere to keep it interesting. Its the rhymes you're here for though. This isn't quite as fun as VV, let along The Mouse and the Mask, but its remarkably consistent, featuring one great, packed, rhyme-within-rhyme line after another. If you know Doom, you know what I'm talking about. It's so unpredictable that more of the same just isn't more of the same. Check out the diagrams here, with special attention to the bottom right one. Doom line like a picture the way it's worth with a thousand words.
Other highlights include the female guest verses and the brilliant, heartbreaking That's That. But it's just solid front to back, wholly engaging, layers after layers, requiring dozens of listens, with less intrusive samples than usual. This guy's almost certainly my favorite rapper going these days, and this album just solidifies the status 4.5/5
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
#337 Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight
Forgetting for the 100th time whether Cheap Trick or Thin Lizzy did The Boys are Back in Town (its Thin Lizzy) got me thinking about both bands - 2nd tier, coupla hit wonders who I didn't know much about. It feels like progress that these are the the kinds of albums I'm filling in blanks on now.
This starts off promising, Surrender is a classic, and On Top of the World is the finest example of this band's Queen side. And throughout there is some vaguely catchy, slightly menacing rock that would later inspire plenty of soft-edged 90's songs. Stiff Competition in particular is good, Rock Band-style fun.
But the rest of it is just so uninspired. It's important to remember that this came out in 1978, and therefore inspired a lot of the bad 80's rock it evokes, but it also rips off so much that came before it. The title track has kind of a nice thing going (the prospect of heaven as both the promise of bliss and the threat of death, perfectly straddled) but it so thoroughly apes Cashmere and She's So Heavy that I can't get into it. High Roller must have some conspiracy with Hot Blooded (also 1978!) to make that the lamest riff of the year, with the Cheap Trick version mixing in some Jean Genie copping. And the stuff that isn't derivative is just kind of slick and boring. This stuff was reasonably ahead of its time, but it was ahead of a time I don't much appreciate.
I started off liking this more than I expected to, and ended up liking it less than I expected to. If I was less jaded, I might have found more fun here, but then, I'm pretty jaded 2.5/5
This starts off promising, Surrender is a classic, and On Top of the World is the finest example of this band's Queen side. And throughout there is some vaguely catchy, slightly menacing rock that would later inspire plenty of soft-edged 90's songs. Stiff Competition in particular is good, Rock Band-style fun.
But the rest of it is just so uninspired. It's important to remember that this came out in 1978, and therefore inspired a lot of the bad 80's rock it evokes, but it also rips off so much that came before it. The title track has kind of a nice thing going (the prospect of heaven as both the promise of bliss and the threat of death, perfectly straddled) but it so thoroughly apes Cashmere and She's So Heavy that I can't get into it. High Roller must have some conspiracy with Hot Blooded (also 1978!) to make that the lamest riff of the year, with the Cheap Trick version mixing in some Jean Genie copping. And the stuff that isn't derivative is just kind of slick and boring. This stuff was reasonably ahead of its time, but it was ahead of a time I don't much appreciate.
I started off liking this more than I expected to, and ended up liking it less than I expected to. If I was less jaded, I might have found more fun here, but then, I'm pretty jaded 2.5/5
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
#336 Brian Eno - Discreet Music
One more shot, Eno!
Ah, see, this is more like it. This is untainted ambient. For being the grandaddy of ambient, this guy sure fucked with the formula a lot. I liked the first track on Music for Airports because it was the only one that didn't have anything annoying over top, no excess pianos, no vocal synth noises. Then there were his experiments with Robert Fripp which were really less than the sum of their parts, with Fripp's guitar squalls ruining most of the songs.
If you're going to "do ambient" and thereby get a pass on making long, slowmoving, minimal songs, don't call attention to yourself. Parts should come and go like spouses with different work schedules; gracefully, lightly, respectfully, in dull 6 am light. Don't wake me up.
The first, side-long track here succeeds in this regard, and is probably Eno's finest ambient work. It evolves glacially, wearing paths gently. If you don't have anywhere to be, and you want some ambiance, these 30 minutes will do ya.
About the 3 canon variations on the 2nd side, I'm not so sure. They're interesting, and I think if I was more classically trained, or if I was willing to give them a few more listens, there would be interesting details in the exercise. My rating is really for that first half, which is a really nice piece in a genre I often have a hard time appreciating 3.5/5
Ah, see, this is more like it. This is untainted ambient. For being the grandaddy of ambient, this guy sure fucked with the formula a lot. I liked the first track on Music for Airports because it was the only one that didn't have anything annoying over top, no excess pianos, no vocal synth noises. Then there were his experiments with Robert Fripp which were really less than the sum of their parts, with Fripp's guitar squalls ruining most of the songs.
If you're going to "do ambient" and thereby get a pass on making long, slowmoving, minimal songs, don't call attention to yourself. Parts should come and go like spouses with different work schedules; gracefully, lightly, respectfully, in dull 6 am light. Don't wake me up.
The first, side-long track here succeeds in this regard, and is probably Eno's finest ambient work. It evolves glacially, wearing paths gently. If you don't have anywhere to be, and you want some ambiance, these 30 minutes will do ya.
About the 3 canon variations on the 2nd side, I'm not so sure. They're interesting, and I think if I was more classically trained, or if I was willing to give them a few more listens, there would be interesting details in the exercise. My rating is really for that first half, which is a really nice piece in a genre I often have a hard time appreciating 3.5/5
#335 E-603 - Something for Everyone
After hearing his newer one, listening to his (also free!) (better liked, by some) debut seemed like an obvious choice.
This one is actually a lot better in subtle ways. It's more fun, it's more briskly paced, just bursting with ideas, overflowing with enthusiasm for the next sample, rushing headlong to the next and the next. Torn Up is comparatively ponderous. Also, maybe this where he used up some of his best ideas, because the song selections are top notch here - he still falls behind Girl Talk in terms of diversity, but this has more of my favorite songs than any mashup album ever. Wolf Parade, The Unicorns (!), Yoshimi, YYY's, The Strokes, they all make appearances in the first 7 minutes, and are all used to incredibly good effect. By the end of the album we've heard 4 Spank Rock sections and Crystal Cat and I'm sold.
There's something more listenable about this one than the other one. He still lack's Girl Talk's overall showmanship and mastery of pacing (see #332 for the full comparative analysis), and this is in many ways a "smaller" work, even smaller than Night Ripper on the Girl Talk spectrum. But it's charming, and its brisk pacing and lack of big heavy moments makes it weirdly addicting.
If I had never heard Girl Talk, this would be an easy 5. But I have, and the newness of Night Ripper is part of why I loved it so much and why I still hold it in such high esteem. Fuckit though, you know what, this is a worthy entry in a pantheon of top notch mashups. Girl Talk's going to continue his reign over my car, but this guy has earned a top slot in my headphones 5/5
This one is actually a lot better in subtle ways. It's more fun, it's more briskly paced, just bursting with ideas, overflowing with enthusiasm for the next sample, rushing headlong to the next and the next. Torn Up is comparatively ponderous. Also, maybe this where he used up some of his best ideas, because the song selections are top notch here - he still falls behind Girl Talk in terms of diversity, but this has more of my favorite songs than any mashup album ever. Wolf Parade, The Unicorns (!), Yoshimi, YYY's, The Strokes, they all make appearances in the first 7 minutes, and are all used to incredibly good effect. By the end of the album we've heard 4 Spank Rock sections and Crystal Cat and I'm sold.
There's something more listenable about this one than the other one. He still lack's Girl Talk's overall showmanship and mastery of pacing (see #332 for the full comparative analysis), and this is in many ways a "smaller" work, even smaller than Night Ripper on the Girl Talk spectrum. But it's charming, and its brisk pacing and lack of big heavy moments makes it weirdly addicting.
If I had never heard Girl Talk, this would be an easy 5. But I have, and the newness of Night Ripper is part of why I loved it so much and why I still hold it in such high esteem. Fuckit though, you know what, this is a worthy entry in a pantheon of top notch mashups. Girl Talk's going to continue his reign over my car, but this guy has earned a top slot in my headphones 5/5
#334 Folk Implosion - Dare to be Surprised
I think this album, or one album by these guys might have been AMG's album of the day like a month ago, and maybe that planted a seed, because suddenly I wanted to see what the guys who did Natural One actually did as a band.
That song was no No Rain; the same basic strengths are on display in the rest of their album. There's the muttered delivery that manages to not sound too annoyingly disinterested, over some really sweet basslines, really cleanly produced, and some groovy complimentary guitar parts, sounding somewhere halfway between Soul Coughing and The Eels. At times its a little too smooth, and loses some personality, but I get the idea that these guys just really like making music, and want it to sound good. I could see this being a grower. It doesn't do anything spectacular, but its highly listenable, with a glitter of uniqueness here and there to catch the ear 3.5/5
That song was no No Rain; the same basic strengths are on display in the rest of their album. There's the muttered delivery that manages to not sound too annoyingly disinterested, over some really sweet basslines, really cleanly produced, and some groovy complimentary guitar parts, sounding somewhere halfway between Soul Coughing and The Eels. At times its a little too smooth, and loses some personality, but I get the idea that these guys just really like making music, and want it to sound good. I could see this being a grower. It doesn't do anything spectacular, but its highly listenable, with a glitter of uniqueness here and there to catch the ear 3.5/5
Monday, March 21, 2011
#333 Egytrixx - Bible Eyes
Dust'd.
Why do I keep listening to this kind of stuff? I guess the Dusted review made it sound more interesting than it ended up being. This is vaguely dubsteppy, vaguely arty, slightly noisy, fairly annoying, indistinct warble wobble. Take a few loops, make your average amateur Acid song out of them, then apply some "wwweeeooooOOOOOOOOoooooooeeeeeewwwwww" / "wwooaaAAAaaaooommm" / tweak / bend / envelope on a few of the loops and you're good to go. Most there's thumpy 4/4 in the background, sometimes there's a beat or two missing to keep things interesting, I guess?
I need to stay away from current electronic music, this simply did nothing for me 1.5/5
Why do I keep listening to this kind of stuff? I guess the Dusted review made it sound more interesting than it ended up being. This is vaguely dubsteppy, vaguely arty, slightly noisy, fairly annoying, indistinct warble wobble. Take a few loops, make your average amateur Acid song out of them, then apply some "wwweeeooooOOOOOOOOoooooooeeeeeewwwwww" / "wwooaaAAAaaaooommm" / tweak / bend / envelope on a few of the loops and you're good to go. Most there's thumpy 4/4 in the background, sometimes there's a beat or two missing to keep things interesting, I guess?
I need to stay away from current electronic music, this simply did nothing for me 1.5/5
#332 E-603 - Torn Up
In anticipation of my upcoming date with Girl Talk, I went looking for other people doing similar stuff. As in, maximalist, busy, mashups, combining dozens of songs in various combinations, instead of stretching a two-song pairing to track length. When I've done this kind of search in the past, I've come away unimpressed with the stuff I've found, but this guy's sample track sounded promising, and hey, it's free! (get it here!).
It's impossible to talk about this album without talking about Girl Talk. These guys employ the same mix of rock and rap, with a similar samples-per-minute-rate. E-603 uses a lot of the same songs and even the album cover and title evoke Gregg Gillis's previous work. How does it compare then? Surprisingly favorably. Here's the main differences as I see them:
1) E-603 doesn't draw from quite as wide a selection of albums, focusing more squarely on indie rock and recent rap.
2) Where GT allows the rap and rock elements to share vocal duties, E-603 almost exclusively features rapping, with very little singing to be found. This makes the album as a whole blur together a bit more.
3) E-603 is a lot headphonier, more likely to make you bob your head than shake your ass.
And this comes to the major overriding difference between these guys. Gillis has honed his craft by putting on killer live shows; his focus is on making a party happen via music. E-603 is more focused on making music in its own right, and seems to take it a lot more seriously. It's not quite as much fun, and fun is, after all, what makes Girl Talk great. Also, this album lacks Girl Talk's mastery of pacing. It drags in places (feeling much longer than the actually-longer All Day), doesn't carve out high and low spaces as well as it should, and kind of just dies out at the end, rather than reaching a satisfying climax. Word is Gillis bristles at being called a DJ, but he has a DJ's mastery of mood, of pacing, of setting up and denying and fulfilling expectations about what's next, and it's something you don't miss until you hear an album that lacks it.
That said, this is still a really fun album, with some really gorgeous pairings that rival Girl Talk's finest moments (The M83, Ratatat, TPC and Closing Time samples come to mind, each perfectly utilized). E-603 also has a few new structural tricks up his sleeve. He sometimes returns to a sample used previously in the song (a move is strikingly absent from Girl Talk's steadfastly in-the-moment approach) and it works really nicely, and the weaving of related riffs through the second half of Hey Shorty is goddamned brilliant. Technically, it's solid, but are are some rough edges; there were at least a handful of places where the vocals are speed-adjusted clumsily, ending up logy, off-beat or distractingly distorted (see his take on Juicy on You Can Get) - so score one back for Girl Talk, whose albums are, if nothing else, perfectly executed on a technical level.
I do feel a bit guilty for talking about this album so squarely in Girl Talk terms, but its inescapable, the original mashup superstar's shadow looms large over every part of this album. And part of this is E-603's fault: it seems like, like so many of us, he heard Girl Talk and said "I could do that". Unlike the rest of us, he actually can. But he needs to expand on some of the divergences I mentioned, set up his own take on the style, before I can talk about his stuff wholly on its own terms. I look forward to that day, there's tons of potential on display here.
Again, its a super fun album, even if it comes up short on innovation and soul. One to watch, a new contender has arrived, squeaking in on the low end of 4.5/5
It's impossible to talk about this album without talking about Girl Talk. These guys employ the same mix of rock and rap, with a similar samples-per-minute-rate. E-603 uses a lot of the same songs and even the album cover and title evoke Gregg Gillis's previous work. How does it compare then? Surprisingly favorably. Here's the main differences as I see them:
1) E-603 doesn't draw from quite as wide a selection of albums, focusing more squarely on indie rock and recent rap.
2) Where GT allows the rap and rock elements to share vocal duties, E-603 almost exclusively features rapping, with very little singing to be found. This makes the album as a whole blur together a bit more.
3) E-603 is a lot headphonier, more likely to make you bob your head than shake your ass.
And this comes to the major overriding difference between these guys. Gillis has honed his craft by putting on killer live shows; his focus is on making a party happen via music. E-603 is more focused on making music in its own right, and seems to take it a lot more seriously. It's not quite as much fun, and fun is, after all, what makes Girl Talk great. Also, this album lacks Girl Talk's mastery of pacing. It drags in places (feeling much longer than the actually-longer All Day), doesn't carve out high and low spaces as well as it should, and kind of just dies out at the end, rather than reaching a satisfying climax. Word is Gillis bristles at being called a DJ, but he has a DJ's mastery of mood, of pacing, of setting up and denying and fulfilling expectations about what's next, and it's something you don't miss until you hear an album that lacks it.
That said, this is still a really fun album, with some really gorgeous pairings that rival Girl Talk's finest moments (The M83, Ratatat, TPC and Closing Time samples come to mind, each perfectly utilized). E-603 also has a few new structural tricks up his sleeve. He sometimes returns to a sample used previously in the song (a move is strikingly absent from Girl Talk's steadfastly in-the-moment approach) and it works really nicely, and the weaving of related riffs through the second half of Hey Shorty is goddamned brilliant. Technically, it's solid, but are are some rough edges; there were at least a handful of places where the vocals are speed-adjusted clumsily, ending up logy, off-beat or distractingly distorted (see his take on Juicy on You Can Get) - so score one back for Girl Talk, whose albums are, if nothing else, perfectly executed on a technical level.
I do feel a bit guilty for talking about this album so squarely in Girl Talk terms, but its inescapable, the original mashup superstar's shadow looms large over every part of this album. And part of this is E-603's fault: it seems like, like so many of us, he heard Girl Talk and said "I could do that". Unlike the rest of us, he actually can. But he needs to expand on some of the divergences I mentioned, set up his own take on the style, before I can talk about his stuff wholly on its own terms. I look forward to that day, there's tons of potential on display here.
Again, its a super fun album, even if it comes up short on innovation and soul. One to watch, a new contender has arrived, squeaking in on the low end of 4.5/5
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